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Following numerous stop-and-go developments by the Regional Administrative Court (TAR) for Lazio, the Council of State, and the Court of Justice of the European Union regarding the disclosure of beneficial ownership and the publicity of related information, a clearer framework is finally beginning to emerge.
On 2 October 2025, the Italian Council of Ministers approved, in a preliminary review, a draft legislative decree amending Legislative Decree No. 231 of 21 November 2007 on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. This marks the first step in implementing Directive (EU) 2024/1640.
Access to the Register of Beneficial Owners will be granted exclusively to qualified entities, such as supervisory authorities (the judiciary and law enforcement agencies) and obliged entities – including banks and financial intermediaries – for the purpose of fulfilling customer due diligence requirements. Private individuals, including journalists, will only be allowed access to such information upon demonstrating a specific legal interest.
The new provisions represent a balanced approach between the competing rights to privacy of the data subjects, as protected under Articles 7 and 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and the right to financial transparency, enshrined in Articles 1 and 10 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU).
The decree also includes measures aimed at strengthening cooperation between Italian authorities and their European counterparts, as well as updates to both criminal and administrative sanctioning regimes.
Lastly, the implementation of these new measures will require a revision of Ministerial Decree No. 55/2022, which governs the procedures for the communication and consultation of beneficial ownership data, involving both the Italian Data Protection Authority and the Council of State.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
