Notaries: Registry Center does not provide the ability to verify the information about the beneficiaries of the companies

"After the requirement to verify information about business beneficiaries in the beneficiary subsystem of the Legal Entities Participants Information System (JANGIS) came into force, notaries say they cannot do it because the Registry Center (RC) is not ready for it. The latter says that notaries must submit requests, but they were in no hurry to do so.

According to the president of the Chamber of Notaries of Lithuania, Mariaus Stračkaitis, the inspection is mandated by the provisions of the Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, which entered into force on August 1, but it is hindered by the malfunctions and lack of preparation of the information systems administered by the Registry Center.

"Notaries cannot connect to the JANGIS system and receive data, and the system displays a message that the notary does not have the necessary rights to use this system. Not only does the RC not ensure the operation of the system, but it has not even processed the contracts with the notaries and has not given them login rights. But even individual notaries who have received access rights do not have the opportunity to check the data", M. Stračkaitis said in the report.

According to the Center of Registers, institutions can receive JANGIS data from May, and those who want to receive them - including notaries - must submit requests: after doing this, they already receive the necessary information

"Notaries, like everyone else who wants to receive data, had to submit requests - after rushing to do so more than a week ago, they already got access to the JANGIS data receiving area and are receiving data about beneficiaries," the Center of Registers said.

 Verslo žinios has already written about the fact that the JANGIS system has shortcomings and is not capable of functioning a few days before the amendments to the law come into force.

According to M. Stračkaitis, the Chamber of Notaries of Lithuania has repeatedly warned about slow preparations for the application of new requirements, and the last time it was discussed was on July 27 at the meeting with the specialists of the Ministry of Justice and the Registry Center.

According to the Registry Center, notaries were not active in submitting requests to receive data from JANGIS.

"The Center carries out the signing of contracts with notaries in an operational and urgent manner - it is noticeable that the contracts have been sent to the RC until now, their processing is underway, and access to data is being created," says the Center of Registers.

 

New provisions of the law oblige credit institutions, notaries, bailiffs, auditors, companies providing accounting services and other entities to verify information about the beneficiaries of their clients' legal entities.

 

Beneficiary is considered a natural person who directly owns more than 25% of shares or votes and controls the company, as well as an indirect owner who controls the company through other legal entities or in other ways, for example, has the right to appoint or remove the manager, make strategic decisions.

 

The provisions of the law also establish the obligation for legal entities to provide data on beneficiaries, organizations that have not done so may be restricted from services and operations in financial institutions."