Trusts under AMLR, Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 vs UK MLR2017
What UK law firms need to know
[Updated 21 August 2026]
Trust comparisons for UK law firms with EU offices
The core trust parties are broadly the same under both regimes, but the EU goes further on discretionary trusts, multi-layer structures and foreign trusts.
The AMLR expressly covers objects of a power, default takers and legal entities acting as settlor, trustee or protector. It also requires more detailed beneficial ownership records and can require a foreign trust to register before an EU office starts the relationship.
Ref:
UK: Regs 6, 28, 30A, 44–45ZA
EU: Regulation (EU) 2024/1624, Articles 22, 24, 58–60, 62, 64, 67
UK MLRs
EU AMLR
Operational implication
Who is a trust UBO
Settlor, trustees, beneficiaries or beneficiary class, protector and anyone exercising control
Settlors, trustees, protectors, beneficiaries and anyone exercising ultimate control.
Core trust-party logic can remain broadly consistent, but systems still need to preserve each party’s role so jurisdiction-specific rules can be applied elsewhere.
Information captured
Prescribes information on beneficial owners and potential beneficiaries, including identity, residence, nationality, role and nature/extent of beneficial interest.
Adds prescribed fields including place and full date of birth, identity details, date the interest began and, for multi-layer structures, the entities and relationships within the structure.
AML software providers will need additional EU fields and logic, particularly around identity, interest dates and relationships within multi-layer structures
Undetermined beneficiaries
Where individuals have not been determined, the relevant class of beneficiaries is identified.
The class and its general characteristics are identified; individuals become UBOs once identified or designated.
Beneficiary status may need to be dynamic, with workflows able to move someone from a beneficiary class to an identified UBO and trigger the relevant CDD and register updates.
Discretionary trusts
Captures beneficiaries or the relevant beneficiary class, and TRS rules also require information on potential beneficiaries identified in settlor documents such as letters of wishes.
Specifically requires identification of objects of a power and default takers before beneficiaries have been selected.
Trust questionnaires and data structures may need separate EU fields for objects of powers and default takers
Foreign trusts
A business relationship triggers TRS registration for a non-UK express trust only where at least one trustee is UK-resident. Separate triggers apply for UK land and UK tax liabilities
A foreign express trust entering a business relationship with an EU obliged entity must submit BO information to an EU central register before the relationship starts.
Onboarding workflows may need jurisdiction-specific trust-registration checks before engagement, as a foreign trust able to instruct London may need registration before an EU office can act.
Corporate trust parties
Looks through a corporate entity where it holds an interest in the trust property or exercises control over the trust.
Where a trust role is held by a legal entity, its beneficial owners are also treated as beneficial owners of the trust
Trust look-through logic may need to vary by jurisdiction. EU workflows need to identify and unwrap legal entities occupying trust roles (corporate settlors, trustees, protectors etc), not only entities meeting the UK interest/control test.
Updating information
Changes to TRS information generally must be reported within 90 days.
Beneficial ownership information must generally be updated within 28 days, with at least annual verification.
Record-management workflows may need different jurisdictional reminders, with EU systems tracking shorter update deadlines and annual verification.
Register discrepancies
Material discrepancies with TRS information must be addressed. If corrected by the trustee, no report is required; unresolved material discrepancies must be reported to HMRC.
Discrepancies generally must be reported within 14 calendar days.
Discrepancy workflows may need different escalation and deadline logic, including the EU’s fixed 14-day reporting window versus the UK opportunity to resolve first.
Frequently asked questions
When does a foreign trust become a matter-opening issue for an EU office?
Under Article 67, a foreign trust within scope must submit its beneficial ownership information to an EU central register before the business relationship starts. The medium-high/high-risk limitation in Article 67(2) applies to foreign legal entities, not foreign trusts. If the trust triggers registration in several Member States, registration in one Member State is sufficient evidence for the others.
How should we deal with a discretionary trust with a very wide beneficiary pool?
The EU rules do not require every conceivable beneficiary to be treated as a UBO from the start. Under Article 60, where beneficiaries have not yet been selected, the objects of the power and default takers must be identified; an object becomes a UBO when selected, while a default taker becomes one if the trustees fail to exercise their discretion. Certain low-risk structures can be recorded by class.
Trust questionnaires may need to be updated to capture the discretionary framework itself, not just named beneficiaries.
Read more about UK MLRs vs EU AMLR
Additional resources
Bar associations for common jurisdictions
Belgium
- Orde van Vlaamse Balies – witwaspreventie (Flemish bars)
- AVOCATS.BE – anti-blanchiment (French/German-speaking bars, OBFG).
Belgium has no single national bar, so both apply depending on the bar of registration.
France
Conseil National des Barreaux – LBC-FT,
Germany
Italy
Consiglio Nazionale Forense – Antiriciclaggio.
Luxembourg
Ordre des Avocats du Barreau de Luxembourg – LBC-FT.
Netherlands
Nederlandse Orde van Advocaten – Wwft.
Spain
Abogacía Española – Prevención del Blanqueo de Capitales (OPBA).
EU level
- AMLA: regulatory instruments – tracks every guideline and technical standard as it's finalised
- AMLA: public consultations – draft guidance open for comment
- EUR-Lex: Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR) – the regulation itself
- EUR-Lex: sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD6) – the directive Member States transpose
Cross-border legal profession
- CCBE: anti-money laundering – guidance written for lawyers specifically, bridging UK and EU frameworks