Explanation of beneficial owners
7. Religious organisations and their institutions
According to Section 1(5)(a) of the Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing (hereinafter - Law), the true beneficiary (PLG) is a natural person who is the owner of a legal person or who controls the client (in the case of religious organisations) of the subject of the Law, a religious organisation and its institution, if so, in accordance with the Religious Organisation. the statutory status of a legal person shall be specified), or in the name, for the benefit, of which a business relationship is established or a case-by-case transaction is conducted, and shall be at least, for legal persons, a natural person who, in the form of a direct or indirect holding, holds more than 25 per cent of the capital shares or shares entitled to vote, or who directly holds directly or indirectly controlled. The 25 per cent criterion, by analogy, for the purpose of clarifying the size of a qualifying holding, may also be applied to other legal entities, not only to capital companies.
That provision provides FOR THE FRG, i.e. the true beneficiary shall always be the natural person who owns or is in the interest of which the legal person in question is established or operates, or who shall exercise control over the legal person directly or indirectly. It should be noted that, in the case of direct participation or control, THE legal person OF THE PLG is directly controlled, while in the case of indirect participation or control, the control is exercised through another person, whether natural or legal.
The Financial Transaction Working Group (FATF) guidelines 'Transparency and True Beneficiaries' issued in October 2014 are interpreted AS a natural person who owns or controls the 'client' and/or the natural person for whom the transaction is being carried out. It also includes those persons exercising final control over the legal person. Cases where 'final ownership or control' and 'final control' refer to situations where ownership/control is exercised through ownership or other means of control other than direct control. An essential feature of THE definition OF THE PLG is that it goes beyond legal ownership and control. The definition of FATF focuses on a natural person who actually owns a legal person, who exercises the powers of senior management of a legal person or the assets of a legal person, as well as a natural person exercising effective control over the legal person (whether or not the person holds an official position in the legal person).
It shall be indicated that, in the case of direct participation or control, THE legal person OF THE PLG shall be controlled directly and may result from the exercise of ownership or lawful control. On the other hand, in the case of indirect participation or control, the control is exercised through another person, whether natural or legal, (in the case of a religious organisation, this would apply, for example, to cases where the religious organisation's authority is controlled by the religious organisation through the religious organisation which founded the institution). Indirect control may be carried out by a variety of means, for example by mutual agreement or by the use of dominant influence to finance it through creative links or contractual obligations.
The law does not contain a specific framework for the obligations specified, depending on the nature, nature or purpose of the legal person's activities. It should also be noted that the legal person is a legal fiction, followed in each case by natural persons who organise, manage or control it, so that there is no situation in which THE PLG does not exist, it may not be possible to clarify it in accordance with the definition laid down in the Law. Consequently, there cannot be a situation and the Law does not provide for the registration of information in the registers carried by the Enterprise Register regarding the fact that a legal person does not have a genuine benefit.
The nature of the activities of religious organisations is to merge within the same religious organisation or denomination in order to carry out religious activities in a particular populated area. Religious activity is a betrayal of religion or belief by cultivating a cult, performing religious or ritual ceremonies and preaching teaching. The pursuit of a religious activity does not provide for the possibility for any official of the congregation to be the owner of the organisation. Consequently, in view of the nature and the purpose of the activity of religious organisations, it will normally be impossible for THE religious organisation TO identify THE PLG as there is virtually no natural person owning a religious organisation and it is not possible to identify the natural person or person controlling it or for the benefit of whom a business relationship is established or a case-by-case transaction is carried out. as defined in the Explanatory Notes to THE TERM OF PLG contained in the Law.
At the same time, this does not exclude the possibility that, even in the case of religious organisations, there may be cases where information has been received or obtained in a religious organisation AND, therefore, in such a case, religious organisations have an obligation to notify THE Register of Enterprises of information on it within THE TIME limits and in accordance with the procedures specified in the Law.
At the same time, it should be noted that in cases where it is not possible to identify the beneficiary of a legal PLG, according to Section 18, Paragraph seven of the Law, the entities specified in Section 3 of the Law (e.g. credit institutions, outsourcing accountants, sworn notaries, etc.) may consider a person who holds a position in that legal person IN the higher management institution. Accordingly, in cases where information is recorded in the Enterprise Register that IT is not possible to clarify THE PLG, one, several or all members of the management body will be required to indicate one, several or all members of the management body, in accordance with the Law, in order to allow the entities referred to in Article 3 of the Law to carry out customer research activities - the legal person as THE PLG, when completing out customer survey questionnaires. the essential circumstances.
Identification of true beneficiaries
As in other legal persons, religious organisations and their institutions in conformity with the Law 18. The arrangements laid down in Article 1 shall, where it has grounds for believing that it has become the PLG OF a religious organisation or its institution, have an obligation to notify that fact to a religious organisation or its institution. The management of a religious organisation or its institution shall be obliged to establish, on a reasonable basis, whether it has A PLG, and whether the (cleared) information on THE PLG has been received is true.
Deadlines
Under 18 of the Law. The fourth paragraph of Article 1 and 18. The first paragraph of Article 2 shall, without delay, but not later than within 14 days from the date of the relevant information, submit an application to the Enterprise Register for the registration of THE information concerning THE PLG.
At the same time, under Law 18. For the first sentence of the second paragraph of Article 2, when submitting to the Enterprise Register an application for registration (establishment) of a religious organisation or an institution thereof or for changes in the composition of the management authority or officials, the application shall contain information regarding its PLG in accordance with 18. The requirements of Article 2.
In the light of the above:
- In the case of registration of a new religious organisation or its establishment, the application for registration must also include information on the true beneficiaries;
- When applying for changes in the composition of the management body or officials, the application must also contain information on THE PLG or certify that the recorded information has not changed
- The religious organisation or its institution shall, without delay, but not later than within 14 days of the date of receipt of the information on THE PLG or the change in the relevant information, submit an application to the Enterprise Register for the registration of information on THE PLG or the registration of any changes made to that information.
Information to be submitted
The information to be stored IN the legal person of THE PLG is specified in Section 18.1, Paragraph four of the Law. In conformity with Section 18.2, Paragraph one of the Law, the information specified in Section 18.1, Paragraph four of the Law shall also be submitted to the Enterprise Register.
At the request of the Enterprise Register, in order to verify the reliability of the information submitted, the religious organisation or its institution shall submit:
- the documentary justification for the control carried out;
- a document confirming the relevance of THE information identified BY THE PLG:
- a notarised copy of the identity document;
- a statement of the foreign population register;
- other documents equivalent to those documents;
- a document supporting proof that IT is not possible to clarify THE PLG.
It shall be indicated that in accordance with the Law 18. The information provided for in the fourth paragraph of Article 1 concerning THE FAO (including the documentary justification for the control carried out) must also be kept by the legal person itself.
The following information shall be recorded in the registers carried by a religious organisation or the institution THEREOF IN THE PLG Enterprise Register:
- name;
- surname;
- the personal identity number (if any - date of birth, month, year, number and date of issue of the identity document, country and authority which issued the document);
- nationality;
- the country of residence;
- way of exercising control over a religious organisation or its authority:
- through the status of a legal person (if THE PLG is a member of the management authority entitled to represent a religious organisation or its institution):
- as a representative of the executive or administrative body;
- as a separate person who controls (if THE PLG controls, indirectly, a member of the management authority who is entitled to represent a religious organisation or its institution):
- on the basis of a contract of authorisation;
- on the basis of the transaction relationship;
- another (free text field with the option of entering an undefined type);
- through the status of a legal person (if THE PLG is a member of the management authority entitled to represent a religious organisation or its institution):
- information on the person through whom the control is carried out (indicate if any of the methods referred to in points 6.2 or 6.3 in which the control is carried out):
- the given name, surname, personal identity number of a natural person (if the person does not have a personal identity number - date of birth, month and year).
Under 18 of the Law. The second sentence of the second paragraph of Article 2 - where a religious organisation or its institution has used all possible means of clarification and has concluded that it is impossible to identify any natural person, THE PLG, as well as doubts that the partnership has the true beneficiary, must be certified in the application, with a minimum indication of the reasons. In this case, it will be registered in the register of religious organisations and their institutions that IT is not possible to clarify THE PLG.