Jean-Philippe Foegle, Advocacy and Litigation Officer at Sherpa comments for Business & Human Rights Resource Centre on the European Court of Justice’s decision (November 2022, 23) that struck down the requirement that ultimate beneficial ownership registries should be accessible to members of the general public.
Following that appalling decision, a number of European states including Malta, Luxemburg, Cyprus and the Netherlands, have obviously closed their registers, thus hindering journalists and civil society organisation’s ability to investigate money laundering and tax evasion schemes.
Yet according to the European Court of Human Rights, any « public watchdog » should be able to access these registers. This includes not only NGOs, but also academics, essayists, and non-professional journalists.
Un article published on 23 March 2023 on Business & Human Rights Resource Centre.
