On July 15, 2025, the Dutch Amendment Act on Restricting Access to UBO Registers largely entered into force. This Act, which amends, among other things, Articles 22, 22a, and 28 of the Dutch Trade Register Act 2007, follows the ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union that public access to the UBO register constitutes a serious interference with the right to respect for private life and the right to protection of personal data.
As a result, access to the Dutch UBO register has been fundamentally changed: only specific parties, such as Wwft and Wtt institutions, will now have access to limited UBO data.
The amendment formally grants Wwft and Wtt institutions (gatekeepers) access to the UBO register, but in practice, this access is not yet available. Institutions cannot view the register and are entirely dependent on extracts that clients themselves request and submit to the Dutch Chamber of Commerce. At the same time, the obligation to report errors or omissions in this data will again apply from October 1, 2024. This creates a paradox: institutions must report back errors and omissions to the Chamber of Commerce but have no way to verify their own data.
The Dutch Chamber of Commerce is working on a structural solution: the KVK Dataservice UBO extract, including a UBO API. This is not expected to be available until the second quarter of 2026. Wwft and Wtt institutions will then have access to UBO data via eHerkenning, which can be integrated directly into their systems.
Institutions are therefore dependent on the client's cooperation and what the client provides for another year.
Because financial institutions cannot verify UBO data themselves, there is a material risk that the reporting obligation will be unintentionally neglected. This increases the risk of committing an economic crime. In the event of an economic crime, the Wwft and Wtt institution risks a fine or even criminal proceedings. In addition, the supervisory authority (e.g., the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) and the Dutch Central Bank (DNB)) must be notified. This can potentially lead to a notice (aanwijzing) or, in the worst-case scenario, the loss of the license.
If a Wwft or Wtt institution has a complete client file with a UBO extract provided by the client, and reports any discrepancies in a timely manner, the risk of an economic crime is minimal.
Want to be sure your organisation is prepared for this new situation? Contact us for guidance on securing complete and compliant client files
