In view of the current situation, we would like to inform you that obliged entities pursuant to Section 2 para. 1 GwG may inspect the transparency register in order to fulfill their customer due diligence obligations even when establishing a business relationship (Sections 23 para. 1 sentence 1 no. 2, 10 para. 3, 3a GwG). In the case of inspection via the website, obliged entities generally receive an extract from the Transparency Register at short notice. In the case of inspection via the so-called inspection interface in accordance with Section 23 para. 3 GwG (particularly useful for the financial sector and notaries), the data or extract is even immediately available to the obligated party.
Based on the ruling of the European Court of Justice of November 22, 2022 (Case C-37/20, C-601/20), members of the public must always demonstrate a legitimate interest in accessing the data when submitting an application and provide corresponding proof. The existence of such a legitimate interest must be checked by the registry in each individual case. Depending on the number of cases, this may result in longer processing times. Please also note that members of the public will only ever receive an extract from the register with a reduced data set due to the legal restriction in section 23 para. 1 sentence 4 AMLA. In addition, members of the public will incur costs for the inspection.
If, for example, you have been asked by your bank to submit a statement and this represents a burden for you, it is therefore recommended that you inform the bank of its own right of inspection and try to clarify with the bank whether it might be more sensible for the bank to inspect the statement itself due to the costs incurred by you and the limited right to information.