By virtue of the Trusts and Trustees Act (Register of Beneficial Owners) (Amendment) Regulations, 2025 (Legal Notice 133 of 2025), a number of amendments have been made to the Trusts and Trustees Act (Register Of Beneficial Owners) Regulations (the "Regulations") in order to transpose Article 74 of Directive (EU) 2024/1640 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2024 on the mechanisms to be put in place by Member States for the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, commonly known as the 6th AML Directive.
The key change is that private trustees are now required to submit a declaration of beneficial ownership. Prior to the amendments, this requirement only applied to trustees registered or authorised to act as such under the Trusts and Trustees Act, Chapter 331 of the Laws of Malta.
The declaration of beneficial ownership must be submitted within 14 days of the appointment as a trustee of an express trust, and must include the name of the trust and the following information in respect of each beneficial owner:
- Name and surname;
- Date of birth (Day, month and year);
- Nationality or nationalities where more than one is held;
- Country of residence;
- Official document number, type of document and country of issue;
- The role of the beneficial owner in relation to the trust; and
- In the case of a beneficiary, the nature and extent of the benefit held and, if applicable, an indication as to whether the trust instrument includes any suspension of the trustee's duty to inform the beneficiary of his benefit under the trust.
Private trustees are now also required to notify the Malta Financial Services Authority (the "MFSA") of any changes in the beneficial ownership of an express trust, and submit an annual declaration confirming that there have been no changes in the beneficial ownership of the trust (except those notified) in the previous calendar year.
Private trustees who were acting in such capacity before the 11th July 2025 have been granted a period of six months within which to submit a declaration of beneficial ownership to the MFSA.
Failure to comply with the Regulations may result in the imposition of an administrative penalty by the MFSA not exceeding €150,000.
Originally published 08/08/2025.
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.
