From the perspective of investigative journalists and NGOs, the UBO-register has not been a significant advancement. In Hungary this is primarily due to regulatory deficiencies and the enduring use of methods that aim to hide assets. With only a few rare cases, the ownership register has had limited impact on the effectiveness of investigative reporting. The Hungarian government did little to provide journalists unrestricted access to data on ultimate beneficial owners of businesses and assets. In fact, after a journalist recently published relevant data derived from the UBO register, certain sections of the database were abruptly shut down.  The CJEU decision in late 2022, which imposed stricter restrictions on third-party access to the UBO records, ultimately resulted in the removal of the public interface of the register in Hungary. While the Court has acknowledged that the press and NGOs should be allowed access to the database provided they can prove a legitimate interest, in practice, these regulations would still necessitate a complex procedure to receive the data. Regarding Hungary, it is important to note that the new European AML standards are unlikely to effectively prevent the most commonly used methods of hiding assets.

Read the entire analysis on K-Monitor's blog.