Considering the multiple negative consequences of the widespread of COVID-19 affecting the day-to-day activities of the companies, the Government issued the Emergency Ordinance no. 29/2020 providing economic and fiscal measures aimed to protect the business environment and the economic system (“EGO no. 29/2020”).
One of the subjects covered by the EGO no. 29/2020 concerns the obligation to submit the UBO statement. Hence:
- the obligation to submit the UBO statement during the emergency state [1] is now suspended;
and
- the deadline for submitting the UBO statement is extended with 3 months after the state of emergency ceases.
Until now, according to Law no. 129/2019 for preventing and combating money laundering and financial terrorism (the law transposing the 4th AML Directive, “AML Law”), private companies and trusts were under the obligation to submit the UBO statement with the relevant registry:
- within 15 days after the approval of the financial statements;
- within 15 days after the occurrence of any amendments regarding its ultimate beneficial owner(s).
Also, the AML Law provided that companies registered prior to its entry into force (July 21, 2019) should submit the UBO statement within 12 months (July 21, 2020)[2].
However, it should be noted that credit and financial institutions shall continue meeting their AML obligations, including regarding the identification of the beneficial owner of their clients (irrespective of the information available in the relevant public registry).
To sum up, taking into consideration that non-compliance with the regulations concerning the UBO statement may lead to fines up to RON 10,000 and even with the dissolution of the company, we recommend everyone interested to follow closely the legal regulations issued during the emergency state, as they may have a significant impact on their activity.
| White Collar Compliance & Defense Team | |
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[1] Since March 16, Romania is under a state of emergency established through the Presidential Decree for a period 30 days, with the possibility of extension.
[2] For this interpretation, please see the Q&A section on the Romanian Office for Prevention and Control of Money Laundering website – http://www.onpcsb.ro/faq-onpcsb
