- Slovakia was initially a pioneer in the EU in the area of beneficial ownership records, with the introduction of the first register in 2015 and the innovative Register of Public Sector Partners (RPVS) in 2017.
- Despite initial success, Slovakia faces serious criticism from the European Commission in 2024 due to shortcomings in the implementation of the anti-money laundering directive.
- The current absence of a functional beneficial ownership register that would meet EU requirements poses a significant risk to the integrity of the Slovak financial system.
- The November 2022 decision of the European Court of Justice questioning public access to information on beneficial owners complicates the situation and requires new approaches to transparency.
- Challenges persist in the areas of data accuracy control, enforcement of obligations, and interconnection of various registers.
- Case studies (e.g., Váhostav, Pavol Gašpar) show ongoing problems with the transparency of ownership structures.
- Experts suggest further improvements to the system, including automated data comparison between registers and better cross-border information sharing.
The Slovak Republic has undergone turbulent developments in the area of beneficial ownership transparency over the past decade. From the position of a European pioneer in 2015, the country has reached a situation where in 2024 it faces serious criticism from the European Commission for insufficient implementation of the anti-money laundering directive.
This analysis maps the development of the legislation and practice in the area of beneficial ownership records in Slovakia from 2015 to the present (2024), with emphasis on initial successes and innovative approaches, gradual erosion of these mechanisms, current situation and its consequences, and challenges Slovakia faces in the context of EU requirements and international standards.
The current situation is characterized by the absence of a functional beneficial ownership register meeting EU requirements, which poses a significant risk to the integrity of the Slovak financial system. This situation is further complicated by the November 2022 decision of the European Court of Justice, which questioned public access to information on beneficial owners.
- First register of ultimate beneficial owners introduced within the Public Procurement Act
- Limited scope and non-public nature of the register
○ Companies must now disclose their beneficial owner in the Commercial Register
○ The obligation to identify ultimate beneficial owners applies to almost all legal entities (with exceptions for public sector entities and firms registered in the Register of Public Sector Partners)
- New requirements for companies:
○ Record data on the ultimate beneficial owner in their internal documentation
○ Regularly update this data
○ Archive information for five years.
- The aim is to prevent concealing the identity of beneficial owners behind complex company structures
- Unlike the anti-letterbox company law, this amendment does not specify the exact procedure for how a company should determine and prove who the beneficial owner is. It only specifies what data needs to be recorded.
○ New definition of "public enterprise" - narrowing to legal entities with 100% direct or indirect participation of the state, municipality, higher territorial unit, or legally established legal entity
○ Clarification of the definition of "public sector partner" - exclusion of entities entering into ordinary business relationships with public enterprises
○ Change in the registration of top management as ultimate beneficial owners - narrowing to statutory body and members of the statutory body
○ Introduction of interpretative rules for assessing contracts - clarification of the calculation of contract performance value
○ Possibility of voluntary verification of ultimate beneficial owners' identification twice a year
○ Introduction of a deadline for verifying the identification of the ultimate beneficial owner by December 31 of the calendar year
○ Introduction of a two-year disqualification period for a public sector partner after deletion from official duty
○ Strengthening legal certainty in relation to determining concerted action or joint procedure
○ Introduction of a "material corrective" for protection against formalistic decision-making when imposing sanctions
○ Possibility to state the registered office of the public sector partner instead of the permanent residence of the ultimate beneficial owner in justified cases
○ Mitigation of the mechanism for imposing fines on the statutory body and introduction of joint and several liability of statutory body members
- In November 2022, the European Court of Justice ruled on the invalidity of the AML Directive provision that required member states to ensure public access to data on ultimate beneficial owners due to the protection of privacy rights and personal data protection. This development represents a significant turn in the approach to ownership structure transparency and will have a fundamental impact on the functioning of RPVS in the coming years.
- Consequences of the decision:
○ Immediate restriction of access to beneficial ownership registers in some EU countries
○ Diverse approaches of member states to providing access to journalists and civil society
○ According to Transparency International analysis (November 2023):
■ In 13 out of 27 EU member states, journalists and civil society have either completely restricted access or must demonstrate a "legitimate interest"
■ 14 countries maintained public registers, but with various restrictions (e.g., Hungary)
- Expected changes for Slovakia:
○ Need to limit access to data in RPVS only to authorized persons
○ Possible introduction of a system for demonstrating legitimate interest
○ Potential increase in individual requests to limit access to personal data
- Challenges for Slovak legislators:
○ Ensure compliance of RPVS with the European Court of Justice decision
○ Balance the need for transparency with privacy protection
○ Prepare legislative changes reflecting the new situation
- Future development at the EU level:
○ Ongoing negotiations on the 6th AML Directive
○ European Parliament's proposal to establish a presumption of legitimate interest for journalists and civil society
○ Need for a harmonized approach across the EU to prevent regulatory arbitrage
- Managed by the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic
- Publicly accessible athttps://rpvs.gov.sk/rpvs
- Contains data on beneficial owners of entities doing business with the state
- Entries are verified by authorized persons (lawyers, notaries, banks, auditors)
- Financial sanctions up to 500,000 CZK
- Prohibition of profit share payment
- Prohibition of exercising voting rights at general meetings
- In November 2023, the European Commission sent a formal notice to Slovakia due to deficiencies in implementing the anti-money laundering directive.
- The main criticisms concerned the register of beneficial owners and the functioning of the Financial Intelligence Unit.
- Slovakia has two months to respond, otherwise further legal steps from the Commission are threatened.
- Váhostav company received a fine from the Office for Public Procurement in 2017 for incorrect data in the register of beneficial owners.
- Initially, the company did not disclose the names of beneficial owners, but only members of the parent company's board of directors.
- After the fine was imposed, the company admitted that the beneficial owner was entrepreneur Juraj Široký.
- The case illustrates problems with ownership structure transparency and attempts to hide beneficial owners behind complex corporate structures.
- In 2020, a direct connection was revealed between Veronika Bernadičová, a former assistant to Smer MP Ľubica Rošková, and oligarch Juraj Široký, who is associated with the Smer party.
- Bernadičová became the chairwoman of the board of directors of Vajat Estate, whose beneficial owner according to the register of legal entities is Juraj Široky.
- Pavol Gašpar, son of the former police president and de facto head of the Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS), divested himself of visible business in the Czech Republic shortly before his appointment.
- However, according to the beneficial ownership records, he still controls the Colbey Company.
- The case points to possible conflicts of interest and the need for thorough scrutiny of persons in high state positions.
- The case is also an example of cross-border media cooperation, where the Czech editorial office of the same newspaper used the beneficial ownership register and found Pavol Gašpar in it, highlighting the unexplained assets of this high-ranking state official.
- Dramatic increase in exports to third countries after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine:
- Turkey: increase from 11 billion CZK to 20 billion CZK annually.
- Kazakhstan: more than double increase.
- Kyrgyzstan: tenfold increase.
- Indicates potential circumvention of sanctions and the need for better monitoring of cross-border transactions.
- Increased transparency of ownership structures
- Better access to information for media, non-profit sector, and the public (in the case of RPVS)
- Strengthening of tools to combat money laundering and terrorist financing
- Improved possibilities for implementing international sanctions
The development of beneficial ownership records in Slovakia since 2015 shows significant initial progress, followed by a gradual erosion of these mechanisms. While the introduction of the Register of Public Sector Partners (RPVS) in 2017 represented a major step forward in transparency, the current situation reveals critical gaps that require immediate attention.
Recent criticism from the European Commission points to persistent deficiencies in implementing the anti-money laundering directive. Deficiencies in the quality and completeness of recorded data, especially for companies with potential links to foreign entities, undermine the effectiveness of the entire system. Case studies, such as the cases of Váhostav, Veronika Bernadičová, or Pavol Gašpar, illustrate that there are still ways to circumvent requirements for ownership structure transparency.
The November 2022 decision of the European Court of Justice further complicates the situation by questioning public access to information on beneficial owners. This requires new approaches to ensuring transparency that will be in line with personal data protection.
Slovakia is at a crossroads in the area of beneficial ownership transparency. There is an urgent need to address the criticism from the European Commission and restore a functional system of beneficial ownership records. Implementation of the proposed recommendations could help restore a strong position in transparency and the fight against financial crime.
Ensuring political will to implement necessary reforms and allocate sufficient resources for their implementation will be key. Beneficial ownership transparency remains a crucial element in the fight against corruption and financial crime. Slovakia has an opportunity to rectify the current situation, but it requires immediate and decisive action from all relevant actors - from state institutions through the private sector to civil society.
In the context of developments at the EU level, including ongoing negotiations on the 6th AML Directive and the European Parliament's proposal to establish a presumption of legitimate interest for journalists and civil society, it will be crucial for Slovakia to actively engage in shaping a harmonized approach across the EU. Only in this way can regulatory arbitrage be prevented and effective fight against money laundering and terrorist financing at the transnational level be ensured.
1. European Commission criticizes Slovakia for shortcomings in the fight against money laundering:https://domov.sme.sk/c/23245240/europska-komisia-vytkla-slovensku-nedostatky-v-boji-proti-paniu-spinavych-penazi.html
2. Register of Public Sector Partners:https://rpvs.gov.sk/rpvs
3. Register of Legal Entities, Entrepreneurs and Public Authorities:https://rpo.statistics.sk/new/organization/9989961/withHistory
4. RKUV - Providing data on ultimate beneficial owners:https://slovak.statistics.sk/wps/portal/ext/Databases/rkuv/!ut/p/z0/04_Sj9CPykssy0xPLMnMz0vMAfIjo8ziw3wCLJycDB0N_H2MXQ0Cg4K9Q90CAzwsLIz1C7IdFQHHMod6/
5. What future awaits the Register of Public Sector Partners and its "visitorship" in light of the European Court of Justice's jurisprudence?https://www.epravo.sk/top/clanky/aka-buducnost-caka-register-partnerov-verejneho-sektora-a-jeho-navstevovanost-vo-svetle-judikatury-sudneho-dvora-eu-5704.html?mail
6. The state is going harder after uncovering company owners:https://hnonline.sk/prakticke-hn/1825915-stat-ide-tvrdsie-po-odkryvani-vlastnikov-firiem
7. EU COURT RULING ON BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP REGISTERS: ONE YEAR ON, NEED FOR HARMONISED APPROACH IS CLEAR:https://www.transparency.org/en/blog/eu-court-ruling-on-beneficial-ownership-registers-legitimate-access
8. Beneficial Ownership Registers Interconnection System:https://e-justice.europa.eu/38590/CS/beneficial_ownership_registers_interconnection_system_boris?EUROPEAN_UNION&action=maximize&idSubpage=1&member=1
9. Where those records are:https://www.screening-solutions.com/kde-ty-evidence-jsou
10. Beneficial owner in the Czech Republic and Slovakia:https://www.machlegal.eu/skutecny-majitel-v-ceske-republice-a-na-slovensku/
11. Six years of the anti-letterbox register - even elite legislation needs maintenance:https://dennikn.sk/blog/2891571/sest-rokov-protischrankoveho-registra-aj-elitna-legislativa-potrebuje-udrzbu/
12. Amendment to the Act on the Register of Public Sector Partners effective from 01.09.2019:https://www.l-r.sk/blog/register-partnerov-verejneho-sektora
13. Parliament approved a major amendment to the anti-letterbox law:https://www.najpravo.sk/clanky/parlament-schvalil-velku-novelu-protischrankoveho-zakona.html
14. Pavol Gašpar runs a business in the Czech Republic while managing SIS. He doesn't want to talk about it:https://dennikn.sk/3904893/pavol-gaspar-popri-riadeni-sis-podnika-v-cesku-hovorit-o-tom-nechce/
15. Real owners of companies should not be just on the web:https://plus7dni.pluska.sk/kauzy/rana-pre-transparentnost-skutocni-vlastnici-firiem-nemaju-byt-len-tak-webe
16. The company of oligarch Juraj Široký is headed by the former assistant of Countess Rošková:https://www.aktuality.sk/clanok/848975/firme-oligarchu-juraja-sirokeho-sefuje-byvala-asistentka-grofky-roskovej/
17. Ultimate beneficial owner, who is it and which register contains it:https://www.foaf.sk/clanky/konecny-uzivatel-vyhod/
18. Ultimate beneficial owner: In what cases and how is it necessary to identify them and in which register are they recorded?https://www.epravo.sk/top/clanky/konecny-uzivatel-vyhod-v-akych-pripadoch-a-akym-spsobom-je-potrebne-identifikovat-ho-a-do-ktoreho-registra-sa-zapisuje-5028.html
19. WE ARE PUBLISHING A LIST OF COMPANY OWNERS:https://transparency.sk/sk/zverejnujeme-zoznam-vlastnikov-firiem/
20. Váhostav received a fine for letterbox companies, the owner is Široký:https://index.sme.sk/c/20435411/vahostav-dostal-pokutu-za-schrankove-firmy-majitelom-je-siroky.html
21. DIRECTIVE (EU) 2018/843 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32018L0843&qid=1626044899667
22. Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic: Register of Public Sector Partners https://rpvs.gov.sk/
23. National Council of the Slovak Republic: Government Bill amending Act No. 297/2008 Coll. on the Protection against the Legalization of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Protection against the Financing of Terrorism and on Amendments and Additions to Certain Acts, as amended and supplementing certain Acts https://www.nrsr.sk/web/Default.aspx?sid=zakony/zakon&MasterID=6594
24. National Council of the Slovak Republic: Government Bill amending Act No. 297/2008 Coll. on the Protection against the Legalization of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Protection against the Financing of Terrorism and on Amendments and Additions to Certain Acts, as amended and supplementing certain Acts (Print 757) - third reading. Vote on the bill as a whole. https://www.nrsr.sk/web/Default.aspx?sid=schodze/hlasovanie/hlasklub&ID=39726
25. Act No 52/2018 Coll. amending Act No 297/2008 Coll. on the protection against the legalisation of proceeds from crime and on the protection against the financing of terrorism and on the amendment and supplementation of certain acts, as amended https://www.zakonypreludi.sk/zz/2018-52
26. Act No. 315/2016 Coll. Act on the Register of Public Sector Partners and on Amendments and Additions to Certain Acts https://www.zakonypreludi.sk/zz/2016-315
27. Foaf.sk: End user benefits, who they are and which registry contains them https://foaf.sk/clanky/konecny-uzivatel-vyhod/
28. Aktuality.sk: Who is the anti-shoplifting register stepping on the toes of? Companies with ties to oligarchs barred from doing business with the state
29. JUDr. Ivan Heger: Entry in the Commercial Register: http://konecnyuzivatelvyhod.sk/obchodny-register.html
30. Camera di commercio Italo-Slovacca: A company lost all its public contracts. https://camit.sk/sk/novinky/19448_z-registra-partnerov-verejneho-sektora-vymazali-firmu-barclet
31. Aktuality.sk: Štát rozširuje diaľnicu neďaleko Bratislavy. V pozadí sa vynorila J&T https://www.aktuality.sk/clanok/466259/stat-rozsiruje-dialnicu-nedaleko-bratislavy-v-pozadi-sa-vynorila-j-t/
32. Aktuality.sk: Miliónová IT firma Anext nedokázala preukázať, kto je jej skutočným užívateľom výhod. https://www.aktuality.sk/clanok/767832/allforjan-firmu-spajanu-s-pociatkom-a-brhelom-vymazali-z-protischrankoveho-registra/
33. Aktuality.sk: Privatizácia vodární: zmluva naznačuje, že Kmotrík sa skryl za biele kone https://www.aktuality.sk/clanok/661302/privatizacia-vodarni-zmluva-naznacuje-ze-kmotrik-sa-skryl-za-biele-kone/
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The analysis has been developed under the framework of the project “Empowered Watchdog Community and Enhanced Transparency Standards for Government Accountability”, co-financed by the Governments of Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakiathrough Visegrad Grants from the International Visegrad Fund. It is also co-funded by the Ministry of ForeignAffairs of the Republic of Korea. The mission of the fund is to advance ideas for sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe.
The content of the analysis is the responsibility of Kohovolit.eu (Slovakia) and the opinions expressed therein may not reflect the position of the International Visegrad Fund and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea.
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