Beneficial owner under Austrian law
wirtschaftlicher Eigentümer
Other languages: Deutsch · Français · Español
The Austrian term for the beneficial owner under the Beneficial Owners Register Act (WiEReG) and the Financial Markets Anti-Money Laundering Act (FM-GwG).
A beneficial owner is whoever ultimately owns or controls a legal entity. Legal entities must report their beneficial owners to the register kept by the Federal Ministry of Finance and review the information at least once a year.
In practice
In Austria, beneficial owners are reported to the register under the WiEReG and reviewed every year; changes must be reported within four weeks of becoming known. For private foundations, the founder, the board, the beneficiaries and, where applicable, other controlling persons count as beneficial owners. In practice, a compliance package helps to give banks access to the evidence; the data held by the family office and the register entries should match at all times.
Distinctions and common mistakes
The Austrian term largely corresponds to the beneficial owner in Switzerland and Germany, but thresholds and fallback rules differ in detail. Typical mistakes are forgotten reports after changes to fiduciary arrangements and the assumption that indirect holdings only have to be reported above 25 percent at every level – what matters is whether the person controls the intermediate company.
Relevant in: Austria
Related terms
- WiEReG
- Austrian act on the register of beneficial owners kept by the Federal Ministry of Finance.
- Beneficial owner
- The natural person who ultimately owns or controls a company, foundation or trust, or on whose behalf a transaction is carried out.