Restriction of Public Access to Beneficial Ownership Data in the Register of Legal Entities: Implications of the CJEU Judgment and Legislative Consequences for Slovakia
On 10 July 2025, the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic officially discontinued public access to beneficial ownership data (hereinafter “BO data”) contained in the Register of Legal Entities (RLE), thereby definitively removing such information from public availability. As early as 5 July, access was also blocked for external analytical tools and databases. This action constitutes a direct response to the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in joined cases C‑37/20 (WM) and C‑601/20 (Sovim SA), in which the Court held that unrestricted public access to BO data represents a disproportionate interference with fundamental rights, in particular the right to privacy and the protection of personal data under Articles 7 and 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
The Court examined the validity of provisions introduced by Directive (EU) 2018/843 amending Article 30(5) of Directive (EU) 2015/849 (the “AML Directive”), which imposed an obligation on Member States to ensure public access to BO data of corporate entities. The Court concluded that such access—absent any mechanism for verifying the applicant’s legitimate interest—is incompatible with fundamental rights protection. The ruling thus reinstated the original requirement of the AML Directive: that access to BO data must be conditional upon demonstrating a legitimate interest, and may be subject to a fee and prior registration.
In response to this case law, the Slovak legislator adopted Act No. 302/2023 Coll., amending Act No. 272/2015 Coll. on the Register of Legal Entities, Entrepreneurs and Public Authorities (the “RLE Act “). Although the amendment was passed in 2023, the technical and operational removal of public access to BO data was only implemented in 2025.
Following this, the Statistical Office of SR restricted publication of BO data. The information is still maintained in a separate module of the RLE—the Register of Beneficial Owners (RBO)—but it is no longer accessible to the general public. Access is now limited to:
- Public authorities;
- So-called “obliged entities” under Act No. 297/2008 Coll. (e.g. banks, attorneys, auditors);
- European and national authorities competent in combating money laundering and terrorist financing.
Critically, however, the 2023 legislative amendment did not contain provisions addressing the CJEU’s requirement to condition access to BO data on the demonstration of a legitimate interest.
As a result, members of the public no longer have access to key BO identifiers such as name, surname, date of birth, residence address, nationality, and shareholding details. The only remaining exception is the Register of Public Sector Partners (RPSP), maintained by the Slovak Ministry of Justice, which continues to provide public access to BO data for companies and cooperatives involved in public procurement.
The restriction of access to BO data represents a significant retreat from the principle of transparency. Public access to such data has been instrumental in identifying ownership structures, uncovering corruption, detecting conflicts of interest, and supporting the work of investigative journalists and civil society.
According to the Statistical Office of SR, a new amendment to the RLE Act is in preparation, aiming to establish a legal framework for access to BO data based on demonstrated legitimate interest, in line with the CJEU judgment and the new Directive (EU) 2024/1640 (the so-called Sixth AML Package). However, several open issues must be resolved in the legislative process, including: the mechanism for verifying applicants’ legitimate interest, applicable fees, technical implementation in the RLE system, and the designation of a competent authority to assess and decide on applications. Until such changes are adopted, the BO register remains effectively non-functional, potentially undermining trust in the transparency of the business environment and the integrity of Slovakia’s AML framework.
