European Free Trade Association (EFTA): Liechstenstein Administrative Court referred case on compatibility of legal entity identification requirement with EEA rules on access to beneficial ownership information (VGH 2023/110)

On 20 December 2023, the Administrative Court of Liechtenstein referred a case (VGH 2023/110) to the Court of Justice of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) States, requesting clarification on whether Liechtenstein’s requirement for applicants to name a specific legal entity when requesting beneficial ownership information under the Register of Beneficial Owners Act is compatible with anti-money laundering obligations under the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement. The case arose from a Malaysian resident’s denied request to access data allegedly needed to investigate asset diversion and money laundering linked to unidentified legal entities. The court seeks clarification in light of the European Court of Justice’s judgment in joined Cases C-37/20 and C-601/20, which declared public access to beneficial ownership registers without legitimate interest incompatible with fundamental rights