On October 9th, the Decree of the Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (“MiMIT”) was published in the Official Gazette, bringing in new compliance rules for the communication of ownership data and relevant information. Drafted on September 29th, 2023, the decree authenticated the operation of the effective ownership communication system, striving to ensure transparency and full visibility on who are the actual beneficiaries of Italian corporations.
The legal firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP provides more insight into this rollout in their recent article which asserts that the communication system remains a crucial tool in modern corporate governance, particularly in tracking the financial transactions and strengthening anti-money laundering efforts.
With this new decree, corporations and other legal entities based in Italy are now obliged to report their actual beneficial owners, thereby ensuring that there are no hidden stakeholders. The declaration of the actual beneficial owners aims to promote economic transparency and reduce elements of corruption, effectively countering economic irregularities, such as embezzlement and tax evasion.
The key points of the decree include:
- Full disclosure of the identity and ownership data
- Duty to report within 30 days of changes
- Failure to comply may result in voiding of transactions or contracts
- The decree is applicable to all corporations based in Italy
The new rules brought forth by MiMIT have redefined disclosure obligations and compliance protocols for Italian corporations. The effectiveness and success of these rules will undoubtedly have wide-ranging implications on global corporate governance paradigms and set a potential precedent for other countries to follow.
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For more information, you can read the full article here.