Notification of beneficial owners

Most companies must file a notification of their actual beneficial owners with the Finnish Trade Register and thereafter keep the details in the Trade Register up to date. For example, limited liability companies and co-operatives must file a notification of beneficial owners. Private traders do not file a notification.

The notification of beneficial owners is free of charge.

In most cases, the beneficial owners of a company are its owners.

The company must file a notification even if the company has no beneficial owners or the company does not know them.

The company must file a separate notification of beneficial owners even if the details of the board of directors, or other persons responsible for the company, are up-to-date, and the owners of shares are given in the start-up notification.

It may become difficult for the company to carry out its operations if it does not file the beneficial owners’ details and keep the details up to date. It is laid down in the Finnish Act on Money Laundering that, for example, banks, accounting firms and law firms are obligated to check the beneficial owner details of their customers.

When do I file?

You must file a notification without delay in the following situations:

The company has not filed its beneficial owner details with the Finnish Trade Register between 1 July 2019 and 1 July 2020.

The beneficial owner details have changed.
A new company has been registered.
You are no longer a beneficial owner of the company.

Which companies file a notification?

Limited liability companies and co-operatives as well as some general partnerships and limited partnerships must file a notification. Private traders do not file a notification. Read more: Which companies file a notification?

Who is a beneficial owner?

A beneficial owner is a person who either owns a company or otherwise exercises control over the company. For example, the estate of a deceased person, a company, a county or an organisation or a public entity cannot be filed as a beneficial owner. Read more: Who is a beneficial owner?

How to file

You can file your notification using the online service at ytj.fi. Please note that the service is only available in Finnish and in Swedish.

File your notification online in Finnish or in Swedish.Open link in a new tab

How to check if the details on the beneficial owners of my company have been registered

The PRH sends a register extract about beneficial owners by post when the notification has been registered. The extract is sent to the address of the provider of further information under the notification or to the company’s address in the register.

You can also use our Virre Information Service to check free of charge if a notification of beneficial owners has been registered for the company or organisation. On the Virre start page, you can search by using Business ID. A notification of beneficial owners is indicated in the basic details of the company or organisation. Go to Virre Information Service. Open link in a new tab

How to access beneficial owner details

Unlike other details entered in the Finnish Trade Register, the details on beneficial owners are not public. However, the information about the registration of notifications is public. Read more: Information services and details.

Why do I need to file a notification on beneficial owners?

It is laid down in the Finnish Act on Money Laundering that, for example, banks, accounting firms and law firms are obligated to identify their customers and check the beneficial owner details. They can also report to the PRH about any deficiencies or inconsistencies in the company’s beneficial owner details.

Various authorities and organisations are working closely together to prevent money laundering. The moneylaundering.fi website contains information on preventing money laundering. The website is jointly maintained by a number of different authorities. Go to the moneylaundering.fi website.Open link in a new tab

See the legislation for more information

The Finnish Act on Money Laundering and the underlying EU directives on money laundering require that companies and organisations

identify their actual beneficial owners;

file the beneficial owners’ details for registration; and
keep the details up to date.

The objective of the Finnish Act on Money Laundering is to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, to help revealing and detecting such activities, and to enhance the tracking down and recovery of criminal benefit.

Provisions on filing and registering actual beneficial owners are laid down in the following acts:

Actual beneficial owner is defined in chapter 1, sections 5–7 of the Finnish Act on Money Laundering.
Provisions on registering the actual beneficial owners of companies are laid down in the Finnish Trade Register Act.
Provisions on registering the executive committee members of associations are laid down in the Finnish Associations Act.
Provisions on registering the members of the committee of directors in religious communities are laid down in the Finnish Freedom of Religion Act.
Provisions on registering the members of the board of trustees and the supervisory board in foundations are laid down in the Finnish Foundations Act.

Read more in the reference database of Finnish legislation Finlex in Finnish or in Swedish.

Printable version Latest update 24.02.2021