Putin orders companies to disclose owners on government request

MOSCOW, Jun 23 (PRIME) -- President Vladimir Putin has signed a law obliging companies to disclose information on their beneficiaries on government request, according to a law published on the government’s Web site for disclosure of legal information on Thursday.

Companies will have to collect, store and refresh data on its beneficiaries no less than once a year, document it and store for at least five years. They will have the right to request the data from founders and participants of companies, and provide the data to the government, the list of which will be defined by the government.

The beneficiary owner is an individual which has a direct or indirect stake of more than 25% in shareholder equity of a legal entity or has a possibility to control the entity’s activity.

The law complies with recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force.

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