The federal law aims to prevent the registration of shell companies at fictional addresses and expands the list of financial operations subject to mandatory control.
One of the key changes is that the law introduces the definition of a beneficiary owner – a physical person who directly or indirectly (through other people) owns (holds a majority stake of more than 25 percent of the capital) the client, who is a legal entity, or has the possibility for controlling the client’s activities. Clients of organisations carrying out operations involving money or other assets will be obliged to provide information on their beneficiaries.
The law also makes it possible to block (freeze) non-cash monetary funds or non-certified securities and assets of physical persons and legal entities suspected of financing and engaging in terrorist activity.