Revision of R25 and its Interpretive Note – Public Consultation

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is conducting a review of Recommendation 25 and its Interpretive Note (R.25/INR.25) on the transparency and beneficial ownership (BO) of legal arrangements. The FATF is also considering amendment of the definition of beneficial ownership in the Glossary to provide more clarity regarding legal arrangements.

The FATF’s objective is to improve R.25 and its Interpretive Note to better meet its stated objective to prevent the misuse of legal arrangements for money laundering or terrorist financing.

In June 2022, FATF carried out a high-level white paper consultation on key policy questions. Based on consultation response proposals for amendment to R.25/INR.25 have been further revised. The FATF’s work in this area is ongoing and will benefit from contributions from all stakeholders, including trustees, financial institutions, designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs), and non-profit organisations.

In particular, the FATF would welcome comments on the following:

1. Are FATF proposals adequate to mitigate the risk of misuse of legal arrangements and to ensure access to BO information?
2. Are proposals clear and are there any issues which need further clarification or that should be addressed in guidance?
3. What is the expected impact of the proposals on legitimate activity? In particular, what are the challenges for implementation?

The draft proposals can be found Word File - Draft Amendment Text of R25.docx

Please provide your response, including any drafting proposals to FATF.Publicconsultation@fatf-gafi.org with the subject-line “Comments of [author] on the draft Amendments to Recommendation 25”, by 6 December 2022 (18h00 CEST). This public consultation is now closed.

While submitting your response, please indicate the name of your organization, the nature of your business, and your contact details. We will use your contact information only for the purpose of this public consultation and for further engagement with you on this issue. Your comments will also be shared with the FATF delegations in the course of further consideration of the amendments, unless you indicate otherwise. The FATF will, however, not share this information with third parties without your consent.

At this stage, the FATF has not approved any draft amendments to R.25/INR.25. The FATF will consider the submissions received and proposals for revisions at its February 2023 meetings.

We thank you for your contribution and interest in FATF’s work.