What are the consequences if the company does not file the notification of beneficial owners with the Finnish Trade Register?
The law requires limited liability companies and co-operatives as well as some general partnerships and limited partnerships to file a notification of beneficial owners with the Finnish Trade Register. This does not apply to listed companies or mutual real estate limited companies.
The Trade Register extract and our Virre Information Service include information on whether the company has filed their beneficial owner details with the Finnish Trade Register.
Neglecting to file beneficial owner details can have consequences for the company.
It may become difficult for the company to carry out its operations
It may become difficult for the company to carry out its operations if it does not file the beneficial owner details with the Finnish Trade Register and keep the details up to date.
According to the Finnish Act on Money Laundering, banks, accounting firms and law firms are obligated to identify their customers and check the beneficial owner details. They must file a discrepancy report with the PRH if they discover deficiencies or inconsistencies in the company’s registered beneficial owner details.
If the company does not make changes to the registered details or confirm that they have been checked by the deadline, the PRH will make an entry in the Trade Register stating that, according to a discrepancy report, there are deficiencies or inconsistencies in the beneficial owner details of the company. This register entry may make it more difficult for the company to do business with entities such as financial institutions.
Read more about the discrepancy report that can be filed if the company's beneficial owner details are deficient.
Companies may be removed from the Finnish Trade Register from 2024
From 2024, the PRH may remove companies from the Trade Register or order them into liquidation if they do not submit their beneficial owner details or rectify incorrect details despite requests to do so.
The company may be ordered into liquidation on application, if the PRH receives a report that the company’s assets are adequate to cover the liquidation costs, or if someone else notifies the PRH that they will cover the liquidation costs.
Read more about the deregistration procedure.
Companies may also be required to pay a fee for negligence from 2025
From 2025, the PRH can impose a fee for negligence due to incorrect or missing beneficial owner details.
From 2025, companies may therefore be required to pay a fee for negligence and be removed from the Trade Register if they do not file their beneficial owner details despite requests to do so.
The fee for negligence is 300 euros. For public limited companies and European companies (Societas Europaea) the fee is 600 euros.