On 20 January 2023, the Netherland's Ministry of Finance closed public access to the national register of company beneficial ownership, reflecting the Court of Justice of the European Union’s decision in November 2022 that unrestricted public access to these registers should be granted only to institutions and persons having a 'legitimate interest'. The ministry concluded that there are insufficient arguments for a strict interpretation of the EU Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive and will now deny any access to the public, restricting it to authorised authorities, financial intelligence units and institutions with a mandatory legal obligation to verify ownership.

News Source：【Taylor Wessing 2023/01/30】