TRUSTS AND TRUSTEES ACT (REGISTER OF BENEFICIAL OWNERS) REGULATIONS

(REGISTER OF BENEFICIAL OWNERS)

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 331.10

TRUSTS AND TRUSTEES ACT

(REGISTER OF BENEFICIAL OWNERS)

REGULATIONS

1st Jannar, 2018

LEGAL NOTICE 373 of 2017, as amended by Legal Notices 27 of 2020

and 133 of 2025.

(1)

The title of these regulations is Trusts and

Trustees Act (Register of Beneficial Owners) Regulations.

(2) The purpose of these regulations is to implement the

relevant provisions on beneficial ownership information of Directive

(EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20

May 2015 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the

purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing, as applicable to

trusts and trustees under the Act, and as may be further amended

from time to time.

(1)

In these regulations, unless the context

otherwise requires –

"Act" means the Trusts and Trustees Act;

"Authority" means the Malta Financial Services Authority;

"beneficial owner" shall have the meaning assigned to it under

the Prevention of Money Laundering and Funding of Terrorism

Regulations, specifically as applicable to trusts, and for the purposes

of these regulations shall be specifically applied to the following

(a)

the settlor;

(b)

the trustee(s);

(c)

the protector, if any;

(d)

the beneficiaries, or where the individuals

benefiting from the trust have yet to be determined, the class

of persons in whose main interest the trust is set up or

operates; and

(e)

any other person exercising ultimate and

effective control over the trust by any means, including any

person (other than those already referred to in paragraphs (a)

to (d) of this definition) whose consent is to be obtained, or

whose direction is binding in terms of the trust instrument or

of any other instrument in writing, for material actions to be

taken by the trustee; and

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"beneficial ownership" shall be construed accordingly;

"declaration of beneficial ownership" shall have the meaning

assigned to it in regulation 3;

"express trust" means a trust which is set up in writing, by

means of a trust instrument as defined in the Act;

"Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit" means the Unit

established under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act;

"material actions" means the following actions or any other

actions achieving the same result

(a)

the amendment of the trust instrument;

(b)

the addition or removal of any beneficiary, or

any person from a class of beneficiaries, or any action affecting

the entitlement of a beneficiary;

(c)

the appointment or removal of trustees or

protectors or to give another individual control over the trust;

(d)

the acceptance of an additional settlor as may be

applicable in terms of the terms of the trust instrument;

(e)

the change of the Proper Law of the trust;

(f)

the assignment or transfer of all or most of the

assets of the trust or the termination or revocation of the trust;

"Minister" shall have the meaning assigned to it under the Act;

"officers" means the directors of a trustee which is set up as a

company or, where the trustee is another body corporate, the persons

entrusted with the management and administration thereof;

"private trustee" shall be interpreted and applied in accordance

with article 43A of the Act;

"trustee" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in the Act

and, unless the context otherwise requires, shall include "private

trustee".

(2)

These regulations shall only apply to express trusts

Provided that, these regulations may also apply to other

types of legal arrangements, other than trusts, having a structure or

functions similar to trusts, as may be prescribed by the Minister.

(REGISTER OF BENEFICIAL OWNERS)

(3) Unless otherwise stated or the context otherwise

requires, terms and expressions used in these regulations which are

also used in the Act and in the Prevention of Money Laundering and

Funding of Terrorism Regulations, shall have the same meaning as in

the Act or in the said regulations, as the context may require.

(1)

A trustee who is authorised or registered in

terms of article 43 or article 43B of the Act, and a private trustee in

terms of article 43A of the Act shall, within fourteen (14) days of

being appointed as a trustee of an express trust, submit to the

Authority a declaration of beneficial ownership, in the form

established by the Authority, in respect of every such trust. The

declaration of beneficial ownership shall include the name of the

trust and the information referred to in sub-regulation (2) on all the

beneficial owners of the trust and such information shall be adequate,

accurate and up to date, and shall be signed by the trustee. Where the

trustee is a company, such declaration shall be signed by at least two

(2) directors, and where the trustee is another body corporate it shall

be signed by at least two (2) persons entrusted with the management

and administration thereof.

(2) Without prejudice to the customer due diligence

requirements emanating from the Prevention of Money Laundering

and Funding of Terrorism Regulations and any implementing

procedures issued thereunder, the information on the beneficial

owners of the trust to be provided to the Authority in accordance with

sub-regulation (1) shall, in respect of each beneficial owner, consist

of

(a)

the full name and surname;

(b)

the day, month and year of birth;

(c)

the nationality or where a beneficial owner has

more than one (1) nationality, the nationalities;

(d)

country of residence;

(e)

an official identification document number

indicating the type of document and the country of issue;

(f)

the role of the beneficial owner in relation to

the trust, in terms of paragraphs (a) to (e) of the definition

"beneficial owner" under regulation 2; and

(g)

in the case of a beneficiary as defined under

paragraph (d) of the definition "beneficial owner" under

regulation 2, the nature and extent of the benefit as well as,

where applicable, an indication as to whether the trust

instrument includes any suspension of the trustee’s duty to

inform such beneficiary of his benefit under the trust or that he

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forms part of a class of beneficiaries which may so benefit.

(3) For the purposes of this regulation, where the

beneficiaries of a trust are a class of beneficiaries, the following rules

shall apply unless stated otherwise in the trust instrument or any other

instrument indicating the beneficiaries of the trust

(i)

the class shall be described and its

members declared as required by this regulation;

(ii) when reference is made to the "family" of

a person, the class is considered to be made up of the

person, his direct ascendants, his spouse, his direct

descendants, and unless excluded, their respective

spouses;

(iii) when a child is born or a marriage takes

place, unless stated otherwise, such child and spouse

shall be declared within three months of the notification

to the trustee of the birth or marriage;

(iv) "children" include children born out of

wedlock and adopted children;

(v)

"spouse" includes the person who the

relevant person is married to at the relevant time and not

persons who they have divorced or separated from, and

also includes persons with whom there is a civil union or

a cohabitation or a de facto arrangement recognized by

law in the country where they are habitually resident,

including where permitted, of the same gender;

(vi) the information prescribed in this sub-

regulation shall be submitted to the Authority as soon as

a beneficiary is determined from such a class, or is

appointed as a beneficiary under the trust, whichever is

the earlier

Provided that nothing in the above shall

affect the interpretation of a trust instrument or any other

instrument indicating the beneficiaries of the trust, or any

entitlements of persons who may or may not be

beneficiaries or have any entitlements, which shall be

governed by the trust instrument or any such other

instrument and principles of applicable law, and the

declaration made for the purposes of these regulations

may not be used for the purpose of proving whether an

entitlement exists or not or the extent thereof.

(4)

Where a trust is set up solely for a charitable purpose in

(REGISTER OF BENEFICIAL OWNERS)

terms of the Act, and which does not have any beneficiaries as

defined in paragraph (d) of the definition "beneficial owner" under

regulation 2, the trustee shall only be required to provide the

beneficial ownership information relating to the persons mentioned in

paragraphs (a) to (c) and (e).

(5) Where an individual beneficiary has not yet received any

financial payment or been provided with a non-financial benefit, or the

beneficiary may not be aware of his entitlement under the trust, and

verification of identity may therefore not have been carried out on the

said beneficiary, it shall be sufficient to provide the identification

details which are available on the trust instrument or on any other

written document by the settlor wherein such beneficiary is named.

Provided that information contained in a trust

instrument, any other instrument indicating the beneficiaries of the

trust, a power of attorney, an engagement or instruction letter, or any

other official document, shall be deemed to be sufficiently reliable

for the purposes of carrying out the duties under this regulation.

(1)

The provisions of regulation 3 shall also apply to

any trustee of a trust whose place of establishment or residence is

outside the European Union, where such trustee enters into a business

relationship, as defined under article 2 of the Prevention of Money

Laundering and Funding of Terrorism Regulations, or acquires real

estate in Malta, in its capacity as trustee of a trust.

(2) The trustee of a trust whose place of establishment or

residence is outside the European Union shall comply with the

provisions of regulation 3 within fourteen days from the date when

the business relationship has been established or the real estate

acquired, as the case may be.

(1)

The information on the beneficial owners of

every express trust provided to the Authority in accordance with

regulation 3 or regulation 3A shall be entered and held by the

Authority in a register of beneficial owners kept by the Authority for

this purpose.

(2) Where there are co-trustees of a trust who are

established or reside in different Member States of the European

Union, the Authority may consider a certificate of registration or an

excerpt of the beneficial ownership information held in a register by

one Member State as sufficient proof of having fulfilled the

obligations in terms of regulation 3.

(3) Where a trustee whose place of establishment or

residence is outside the European Union, enters into multiple

business relationships in such trustee’s capacity as trustee of a trust or

person holding an equivalent position in different Member States of

the European Union, the Authority may consider a certificate of

(REGISTER OF BENEFICIAL OWNERS)

registration or an excerpt of the beneficial ownership information held

in a register by one Member State as sufficient proof of having

fulfilled the obligations in terms of regulation 3A.

(4) The information provided by a trustee as required in

terms of regulation 3 and regulation 3A shall be deemed to be

sufficiently reliable for the Authority in fulfilment of its duties under

these regulations.

(1)

Where there is a change in the beneficial

ownership of an express trust, the trustee shall, within fourteen days

after the date on which the change is recorded by the trustee, notify

the Authority of the change, providing the information required under

regulation 3 on any new beneficial owner, and the effective date of

changes made. The said changes shall be entered in the register of

beneficial owners

Provided that if the change in the beneficial ownership

information relates to a change in trustee, it shall be the duty of the

new trustee to notify the Authority of such change.

(2) A trustee who has submitted a declaration of beneficial

ownership for any trust in terms of regulation 3, 3A, 8 or 8A shall, for

every such trust, submit annually thereafter, and by not later than 31 st

January of each year, a declaration confirming that there have been no

changes to the beneficial ownership of the trust in the previous

calendar year, other than any changes notified in terms of sub-

regulation (1).

(3) The notice referred to in sub-regulation (1) and the

declaration referred to in sub-regulation (2) shall be signed by the

trustee. Where the trustee is a company, such notice or declaration

shall be signed by at least two directors, and where the trustee is

another body corporate they shall be signed by at least two persons

entrusted with the management and administration thereof.

* (1)

The information on the beneficial owners of an

express trust held by the Authority in the register of beneficial owners

shall be accessible to

(a) (i)

national competent authorities with designated

responsibilities for combating money laundering and terrorist

financing;

(ii)

national competent authorities that have the

function of investigating or prosecuting money laundering, associated

predicate offences and terrorist financing, or of tracing, seizing,

freezing and confiscating criminal assets;

*Came into force on 1st April, 2018.

(REGISTER OF BENEFICIAL OWNERS)

(iii)

the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit;

(iv)

national tax authorities.

(v)

Deleted by Legal Notice 27 of 2020.

(vi)

any other national competent authority within

the meaning assigned to it in the Prevention of Money Laundering

and Funding of Terrorism Regulations;

(b) subject persons in terms of the Prevention of Money

Laundering and Funding of Terrorism Regulations, for the purpose of

carrying out customer due diligence in accordance with the said

regulations, in a timely manner

Provided that the subject persons mentioned in sub-

regulation (1)(b) shall be required to submit to the Authority

(i)

an executed engagement letter engaging the

subject person; or

(ii)

a power of attorney, licence, warrant or other

evidence of the function of the subject person; or

(iii)

a declaration that the purpose of the enquiry

relates to the duties of the subject person or alternatively the

basis of such request; or

(iv)

any other document which the Authority may

deem necessary.

(c)

any natural or legal person that, upon a written

request made under regulation 6A, can demonstrate

a legitimate interest. For the purposes of these

regulations

(i)

a legitimate interest to be granted access to

information on the beneficial ownership of a

trust shall be conclusively determined, on a

case by case basis, by the Authority and shall

be satisfactorily demonstrated if the person

requesting such access can prove that the

interest specifically and solely relates to and

will contribute to the prevention, detection

and combating of money laundering or the

associated predicate offences or the

financing of terrorism and shall be justified

on the basis of previous activities and a

proven track record of actions in that field,

by means of relevant documentary evidence;

(REGISTER OF BENEFICIAL OWNERS)

(ii)

Unless prohibited by these regulations or

applicable law, in the event that the Authority

considers that there exists a legitimate

interest to be granted access to beneficial

ownership information, it shall notify the

trustee of its conclusions and the reasons for

its decision and shall grant the trustee at least

ten (10) working days to present any

submissions to it in writing which the trustee

may wish to make.

(iii)

After consideration of such submissions, if

any, the Authority shall notify the applicant

and the trustee of its final decision.

(d)

Deleted by Legal Notice 133 of 2025.

(2)

Access to information on a beneficial owner of a trust

under sub-regulation (1)(b) and (c) may be refused by the Authority,

in full or in part, where in exceptional circumstances to be justified by

means of documentary evidence, and to be determined on a case by

case basis following a detailed evaluation of the exceptional nature of

the circumstances, the Authority considers that access to such

beneficial ownership information would expose the beneficial owner

to the risk of fraud, kidnapping, blackmail, extortion, harassment,

violence or intimidation, or where the beneficial owner is a minor or

otherwise legally incapable

Provided that sub-regulation (2), shall not apply to

(a)

any legal or natural person carrying

out ‘relevant financial business’ as defined in

regulation 2(1)(a) to (f) and (h) of the Prevention

of Money Laundering and Funding of Terrorism

Regulations;

(b)

notaries and other independent legal

professionals, carrying out a ‘relevant activity’ as

defined in regulation 2(1) of the Prevention of

Money Laundering and Funding of Terrorism

Regulations, in their capacity as public officials;

and

(c)

authorities referred to in regulation

6(1)(a).

(3) Subject persons shall not rely exclusively on the register

of beneficial owners to fulfil their customer due diligence obligations

in terms of the Prevention of Money Laundering and Funding of

Terrorism Regulations.

(REGISTER OF BENEFICIAL OWNERS)

(4) The fact that trustees comply with these regulations with

regard to provision of information to the Authority shall not imply

that such trustees do not remain equally obliged to provide any

information requested of them by subject persons taking customer

due diligence measures in accordance with the Prevention of Money

Laundering Act and applicable regulations, as well as others entitled

to such information under any other relevant legislation, about such

trust and beneficial owners.

(5) The access granted by the Authority to the information

on the beneficial owners of a trust to natural or legal persons who

have satisfactorily demonstrated a legitimate interest in terms of sub-

regulation (1)(c) shall, in respect of each beneficial owner, consist of

(i)

the name and surname;

(ii)

the month and year of birth;

(iii)

the nationality;

(iv)

the country of residence; and

(v)

the nature and extent of the beneficial interest held.

(6) The authorities referred to in this regulation and the

Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit may, in pursuance of their

functions in accordance with applicable law, provide information on

beneficial owners accessible to them in terms of this regulation to

competent authorities and to Financial Intelligence Units of other

Member States of the European Union and third countries.

(7) Access to the information on the beneficial owners of

the trust held by the Authority in the register of beneficial owners

shall be subject to on-line registration and to the payment of a fee, to

be prescribed in a legal notice issued by the Minister, for every access

request in respect of the information on the beneficial owners of each

trust

Provided that access to the provision of information on

beneficial owners of trusts by national competent authorities and the

Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit as identified in regulation

6(1)(a) shall not be subject to the payment of a fee.

(1)

The Authority shall receive requests for access to

the beneficial ownership information based on a legitimate interest in

terms of regulation 6(1)(c) in writing and shall, in a timely manner from

the date of receiving such request, notify the applicant of the Authority’s

decision, following an evaluation to determine whether the applicant

requesting access to the register of beneficial ownership information

satisfactorily demonstrates and justifies to the Authority a legitimate

interest in terms of regulation 6(1)(c).

(REGISTER OF BENEFICIAL OWNERS)

(2)

In determining and arriving at a decision whether the

applicant has a legitimate interest, the Authority may request any

information or any relevant documentary evidence it deems necessary,

and may seek guidance from or consult with any person, authority or

other body as may be deemed necessary.

(3)

The Authority may, but shall not be obliged to, notify the

trustee of the request made for access to the beneficial ownership

information of a particular trust administered by that particular trustee.

The Authority may request from the trustee any pertinent information

required by the Authority in order to assess and process the request.

(1)

(a) An applicant who feels aggrieved by a

decision of the Authority denying access, in full or in part, to the

beneficial ownership information requested on the basis of legitimate

interest, in terms of regulation 6A, may appeal to the Court of Appeal

(Inferior Jurisdiction) (hereinafter referred to as "the Court") by means of

an application filed in the registry of that court within twenty days from

the date on which the Authority’s decision has been notified to such

person.

(b)

the appeal application shall be made in writing

clearly explaining the grounds for such appeal and

filed against the Authority, which shall have twenty

days from the date of service within which to file a

reply

Provided that, if the appellant fails to notify the

appeal application to the Authority within twenty

days of the filing of the appeal, the Court, after

hearing during the first sitting of the appeal the

reasons why service was not affected, may declare

by means of a decree delivered in Court that the

appeal is deserted with expenses to be borne by the

appellant.

(c)

the Court shall set down the cause for hearing to a

date no later than two months from when the date on

which the appeal is brought before it and shall cause

notice of such date to be given to the parties to the

suit.

(d)

after appointing the application for hearing, and

after listening to oral or written submissions, as the

case may be, made by the parties and any evidence

that they may be authorised to submit, the Court

shall decide the application on its merits, within the

shortest time possible but not later than four months

from the day when the application has been

appointed for hearing.

(REGISTER OF BENEFICIAL OWNERS)

(e)

if the Court decides in favour of the appellant, the

Court shall, in its decision, indicate the time frame

within which the appellant is to be granted access

to the beneficial ownership information requested

in terms of regulation 6(1)(c).

(f)

if, during the hearing of the appeal, the Court finds

that the application is frivolous and vexatious, the

Court may decide to impose on the applicant, a

penalty, to be paid to the Authority, of between one

thousand euro (€ 1,000) and five thousand euro

(€5,000), as the Court shall determine.

(g)

the Court vacations provided for in the Court

Practice and Procedure and Good Order Rules shall

not suspend the hearing of the appeals filed in

terms of these regulations

Provided that for the purposes of this regulation, the Court

may, for reasons deemed serious and necessary by the Court, by means

of a decree, extend for a reasonable period, the judicial time limits that

are imposed on it according to these regulations.

(2)

The persons referred to under regulation 6(1) (b), (c) and

(d) who are aggrieved by a decision of the Authority denying access to

the beneficial ownership information, in full or in part, on the basis that

access to such beneficial ownership information would expose the

beneficial owner to the risk of fraud, kidnapping, blackmail, extortion,

harassment, violence or intimidation, or where the beneficial owner is a

minor or otherwise legally incapable, in terms of regulation 6(2), may

appeal against such decision to the Court of Appeal (Inferior

Jurisdiction), under the same terms and conditions indicated in sub-

regulation (1) and, accordingly, the provisions of sub-regulation (1)

shall apply mutatis mutandis.

(3)

(a)

Proceedings in relation to the determination of a

legitimate interest under this regulation shall be held in camera and only

the appellant and other parties who can prove they have an interest in the

proceedings to the satisfaction of the Court, and their respective

advocates and legal procurators shall be allowed in Court during the

hearings;

(b)

Any decree or decision of the Court shall preserve

the confidentiality of the proceedings and shall

only reveal such facts as may be necessary to make

the same intelligible and enforceable by the parties;

(c)

All applications, responses, affidavits, statements

and other documents or evidence shall be kept by

the Registrar of the Court in a confidential manner

and no access shall be given thereto except with the

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written consent of the Court.

(1)

Where the Authority has reasonable cause to believe

that the beneficial ownership information submitted in respect of a trust

may not be accurate and updated, the Authority may make enquiries with

the trustee or carry out any other action in terms of its powers granted to

it under the Act, in order to establish the current beneficial ownership.

(2)

Where a national competent authority and, or the Financial

Intelligence Analysis Unit referred to in regulation 6(1)(a), if

appropriate, and to the extent that this requirement does not interfere

unnecessarily with its functions, as well as any person referred to in

regulation 6(1)(b), becomes aware of any discrepancies between the

beneficial ownership information available in the register referred to in

regulation 4 and the beneficial ownership information available to them,

they shall report such discrepancies to the Authority.

(3) Where discrepancies are reported and communicated to

the Authority in terms of sub-regulation (2), the Authority shall take

any appropriate actions in order to resolve such discrepancies in a

timely manner. Until such time as the discrepancies are rectified, any

reference to such discrepancies may be included in the register referred

to in regulation 4.

Access to or receipt of information in terms of these

regulations shall be without prejudice to the applicable data

protections laws and rules in relation to the processing of personal

data.

Every trustee authorised or registered in terms of the Act

shall, with regard to every express trust in respect of which the trustee

was so acting prior to the coming into force of the Trusts and Trustees

Act (Register of Beneficial Owners) (Amendment) Regulations, submit

to the Authority a declaration of beneficial ownership within six months

of the coming into force of the said regulations

Provided that the above six month transitory period shall

not apply to any trustee of a trust who was already required to submit

a declaration of beneficial ownership in terms of the requirements set

out in these regulations prior to 1 January 2020.

Every individual acting as a private trustee in terms of

the Act shall, with regard to every trust in respect of which the private

trustee was so acting before 11th July 2025, submit to the Authority a

declaration of beneficial ownership within six (6) months of the said

date.

(REGISTER OF BENEFICIAL OWNERS)

Where a trustee, in terms of regulation 3 or regulation

3A, contravenes or fails to comply with any of the provisions of these

regulations, the Authority may impose an administrative penalty

which may not exceed one hundred and fifty thousand euro

(€150,000)

Provided that a trustee referred to in these regulations

shall not be held liable if it is shown that the trustee had exercised all

due diligence to comply with the provisions of these regulations and

the default was not due to negligence or fault on the part of the trustee

or any of its officers as may be applicable.

(1)

In accordance with the requirements of

Directive EU/2015/849 of the European Parliament and the Council

of 20 th May 2015, the register of beneficial owners held by the

Authority in accordance with regulation 4 shall be interconnected

with the central registers of Member States via the European Central

Platform established by Article 4a(1) of Directive 2009/101/EC, as

amended by Directive 2012/17/EU.

(2) The information on the beneficial owners of a trust as

defined in regulation 3, held by the Authority in the trust register of

beneficial owners shall be available and accessible through the

system of interconnection of registers mentioned in this regulation.

The information held in the Authority’s register of

beneficial owners of a trust under regulation 4 shall be available

through such register for at least ten years after the grounds for

registering the beneficial ownership information have ceased to exist.

Any document which is required to be delivered to the

Authority under any of the provisions of these regulations, and any

such delivery and the retention of any such document by the

Authority, may be in such format and by such means including in

electronic form and by electronic communication, within the meaning

of the Electronic Commerce Act, as the Authority may deem

appropriate.