Transparency win: we helped journalists regain access to Malta's beneficial ownership register

In a victory for transparency and accountability, The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation has helped journalists regain access to the beneficial ownership register of the Malta Business Registry (MBR) without needing to seek permission every single time.

In 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) had ruled that public access to beneficial ownership information infringed on the right to privacy. Malta responded by limiting access to competent authorities and subject persons, excluding journalists and civil society organisations and restricting their ability to investigate corporate ownership and money laundering trails.

In a clarification issued after its judgement, the CJEU explained that “the AML Directive in force allows access to beneficial owner information for persons and organisations with a legitimate interest, including the press and certain organisations in society.”

We successfully worked with the Malta Business Registry to implement the provisions of the AML Directive, restoring journalists’ access to the beneficial ownership register.

Why this matters

The beneficial owner of a company is the person who has ultimate control over or profits from the company’s activities. The “ultimate beneficial owner” (UBO) might be the company’s actual legal owner, and being registered as a company’s UBO is not necessarily an indication of wrongdoing.

However, as journalistic investigations of large scale data leaks, such as the Panama Papers, have shown, accountants, lawyers, and company formation agents are willing to help kleptocrats and criminals hide their identities and wealth. This usually means complex, multi-layered corporate structures involving shell companies, nominee directors, and shareholders in various jurisdictions, enabling beneficial owners to accumulate wealth and move money around the world largely undetected.

Beneficial ownership data has proven to be an effective means of exposing crime and corruption, ensuring transparency and accountability. Most serious cases of corruption and crime involve companies in jurisdictions that don’t require disclosure of ownership. However, even in jurisdictions where beneficial ownership must be declared, privacy can shield the beneficial owners’ identity from scrutiny.

Even in a small jurisdiction like Malta’s, corporate ownership can have global impact. Enabling journalists’ access to beneficial ownership data limits bad actors’ opportunity to evade accountability.