Beneficial ownership in Serbia – what are new obligations of UBOs?
Starting from 1 October 2025, Serbia will begin implementing the Law on the Central Register of Ultimate Beneficial Owners, introducing substantial changes to the process of registering ownership structures of legal entities and other registered subjects (“registered entities”).
This legislative reform marks an important step toward greater transparency and alignment with European standards. Its main objective is to ensure more precise identification of ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) and to prevent misuse in business operations, particularly in relation to anti-money laundering measures.
By 1 October 2025, all entities subject to the Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (for example, banks) must obtain UBO data from the Central Register of Ultimate Beneficial Owners and compare it with the data collected through their own due diligence processes under the same law.
In the event of any discrepancies or missing information, these entities must promptly notify the competent authority (e.g. the National Bank of Serbia), which will then be required to publish a list of the notified registered entities on its official website.
Expanded Scope of Registered Entities and New Grounds for Registration
The obligation to register UBOs now extends beyond companies, organisations, branches, and representative offices of foreign companies, as well as foundations, legacies, institutions, and associations. It also applies to trusts and trust-like legal arrangements that are either managed from Serbia or otherwise fall within the territorial scope of the law.
This expansion increases the number of registered entities covered by the regulation and introduces, for the first time, the registration of business forms previously outside the domestic legal framework.
In addition to incorporation and changes in ownership structure, the management of a trust from Serbia or the performance of trustee activities within Serbia now constitutes a basis for registering a beneficial owner.
Extended Obligations
Compared to the previous legislation, the new law introduces more detailed registration requirements. When entering data into the Central Register of UBOs, registered subjects must now:
- Register an expanded set of information regarding the beneficial owner;
- Provide the legal basis for identifying the UBO, along with the date of acquisition of that status, the date of registration as UBO, and
- Submit supporting documentation demonstrating how the beneficial owner was determined.
Contact
For additional information, please do not hesitate to contact us via office@iliclegal.rs or mobile +381642360879.
