In 2024 Refresher for Beneficial Ownership, Sinead Gortland provided a guide on how to appoint an RBO Liaison Officer and gave a greater background to the matter with an explanation of the terms as well as common difficulties faced.
How to appoint an RBO Liaison Officer
A ‘designated person’ must appoint an RBO Liaison Officer(s) who will be responsible for coordinating and authenticating reports of discrepancies to the Registrar on behalf of the ‘designated person’ and liaising with the RBO on day-to-day operational matters.
What is a Discrepancy/Discrepancy notice?
A discrepancy notice is a formal notification to the RBO of a discrepancy found between the information held on the RBO and other information available to the designated person or competent authority/relevant person.
What is a ‘designated person’?
A ‘designated person’ is defined by S. 25, Criminal Justice (Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing) Act 2010, as amended. Only a ‘designated person’ as defined in Section 25, 2010 Criminal Justice (Money Laundering & Terrorist Financing) Act, as amended, is entitled to report a discrepancy to the Registrar.
For more detail on designated persons please see Section 25 of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Acts 2010 to 2021.
What is the role of an RBO Liaison Officer?
The RBO Liaison Officer/Deputy Liaison Officer(s) for the “designated person” is responsible for:
1. coordinating and authenticating reports of discrepancies and non-compliance to the Registrar on behalf of the abovenamed “designated person” as required by Regulation 20(3), SI 110/2019, and
2. liaising with the RBO on behalf of the abovenamed “designated person” on day-to-day operational matters.
Steps to Appoint RBO Liaison Officer
1. Request BEN3A Form from RBO by emailing [email protected]
2. Complete BEN3A Form
• This must be signed by a person who can authorise the RBO Liaison Officer e.g. MLRO, Practice Partner, Director of the Company etc
3. PDF the Completed form and send it back to [email protected] and ensure the authoring person is CC
4. Upon receipt of the completed BEN3A, the RBO will provide the appointed RBO Liaison Officer(s) with a DN2 form and details on how to upload the DN2 to the RBO Sharefile Account.
• Guidance on the use of the Sharefile Account will be supplied by the RBO.
Once in place, the RBO Liaison Officer can then upload the DN2 to the ‘designated person’s secure folder in the RBO Sharefile Account.
What happens once I file a Discrepancy report?
For the Discrepancy report, DN2, you will be notified of the outcome after the RBO has concluded its investigations.
Where a discrepancy report has been filed by a ‘designated person’, the Registrar will serve a notice on the relevant entity concerned which –
(i) states that the foregoing notice has been received, and
(ii) specifies the particulars as respects which the foregoing discrepancy exists, and requests the relevant entity to deliver to the Registrar, within a period specified in the notice and in such manner as the Registrar determines –
a) a submission as to why the relevant entity considers the opinion of the designated person concerned not to be well-founded, or
b) if the relevant entity considers the opinion of the designated person concerned to be well founded, such amended particulars (for entry in the central register) as are required where the relevant entity is satisfied that the delivery of such is the appropriate means by which the discrepancy can be resolved, and such a request shall be complied with by the relevant entity accordingly.
Will the entity be aware I filed a DN2?
The RBO will not disclose the identity of the person/person(s) who reports a non-compliance.
If you have any questions, or if you require any assistance, please get in touch with the OmniPro Corporate Consultants Team on 053 910 0000.
For the full session, please click here. In this course, Sinead Gortland covers the following topics;
- The background of the Beneficial Ownership and RBO
- How to identify a Beneficial owner
- How to set up an internal Register of Beneficial Ownership
- Requirements for Accountants to file Discrepancies and Non-Compliance Notices
- Access to the RBO Portal
The contents of this article are meant as a guide only and are not a substitute for professional advice. The author/s accept no responsibility for any action taken, or refrained from, as a result of the material contained in this document. Specific advice should be obtained before acting or refraining from acting, in connection with the matters dealt with in this article.
