# FATF R.25 — Transparency and beneficial ownership of legal arrangements - **Part of:** [[FATF Recommendations]] Countries must assess the risks of misuse of legal arrangements and take measures to prevent it. Trustees resident in or administering the arrangement must obtain and hold adequate, accurate and up-to-date information on the settlor(s), trustee(s), protectors (if any), each beneficiary or class of beneficiaries, and any other natural person exercising ultimate effective control, accessible efficiently and in a timely manner by competent authorities. Trustees must disclose their status to financial institutions and DNFBPs when forming a business relationship or carrying out an occasional transaction above the threshold, and must cooperate fully with competent authorities' requests for this information. Countries must ensure trustees are legally liable, or subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions, for failing to perform these duties or for denying competent authorities timely access, and must provide international cooperation on beneficial ownership information, including facilitating foreign authorities' access to registries. ## Keyed AMLR articles - [[AMLR Art. 22 - ID - verify customer + BO|AMLR Art. 22]] — ID / verify customer + BO - [[AMLR Art. 55 - Structures involving legal arrangements|AMLR Art. 55]] — Structures involving legal arrangements - [[AMLR Art. 58 - BO for express trusts|AMLR Art. 58]] — BO for express trusts - [[AMLR Art. 59 - Class of beneficiaries|AMLR Art. 59]] — Class of beneficiaries - [[AMLR Art. 60 - Objects of a power - default takers|AMLR Art. 60]] — Objects of a power / default takers - [[AMLR Art. 64 - Trustee obligations|AMLR Art. 64]] — Trustee obligations - [[AMLR Art. 67 - Foreign legal entities and arrangements|AMLR Art. 67]] — Foreign legal entities and arrangements - [[AMLR Art. 68 - Penalties (BO)|AMLR Art. 68]] — Penalties (BO) ## Further AMLR connections - [[AMLR Art. 62 - Beneficial ownership information|AMLR Art. 62]] — R.25 requires trustees to hold adequate, accurate and up-to-date information on the parties, including beneficiary classes; Art. 62 applies this standard to legal entities and trustees alike. *(direct)* ## Swiss counterparts - [[TJPG Art. 15 - Trust BOs- settlor, trustee, protector|TJPG Art. 15]] — TJPG Art. 15 defines the beneficial owners of a trust: settlor, trustee, protector, beneficiaries and any other controlling person. *(direct)* - [[TJPG Art. 16 - Trustee duties incl. class-of-beneficiary criteria|TJPG Art. 16]] — TJPG Art. 16 requires the trustee to obtain, verify, document and keep the beneficial-owner information, including criteria for a class of beneficiaries. *(direct)* - [[TJPG Art. 2 - Scope- AG, KmAG, GmbH, cooperatives|TJPG Art. 2]] — TJPG Art. 2 Abs. 2 applies Art. 15-16 to trustees resident or seated in Switzerland or administering trusts there, except trustees subject to the GwG. *(direct)* - [[GwV-FINMA Art. 64 - Groupings of persons, trusts, asset|GwV-FINMA Art. 64]] — GwV-FINMA Art. 64 requires a declaration on the persons behind a trust; Abs. 3 requires a financial intermediary acting as trustee to disclose that status to its counterparty. *(direct)* - [[VSB 20 Art. 41 - Trusts|VSB 20 Art. 41]] — VSB 20 Art. 41 is the bank rule for trusts: trust details are declared in writing or on Form T. *(related)* ## Authoritative text > [!quote]- FATF Recommendation 25 — text of the Recommendation (FATF Recommendations, updated June 2026); interpretive note not reproduced > **25. Transparency and beneficial ownership of legal arrangements** > Countries should assess the risks of the misuse of legal arrangements for money laundering or terrorist financing and take measures to prevent their misuse. In particular, countries should ensure that there is adequate, accurate and up-to-date information on express trusts and other similar legal arrangements including information on the settlor(s), trustee(s) and beneficiary(ies), that can be obtained or accessed efficiently and in a timely manner by competent authorities. Countries should consider facilitating access to beneficial ownership and control information by financial institutions and DNFBPs undertaking the requirements set out in Recommendations 10 and 22.