The tax authorities will receive data on the bank accounts of Ukrainians: what the draft law entails.

The Government of Ukraine has approved a draft law that provides for the creation of a Register of accounts and individual bank safes of individuals. Under this draft law, the State Tax Service will become the administrator of the register. This was reported by 24 Channel referring to the Government Portal.

Important: the draft law clearly states that information about the movement and balances of funds in citizens' accounts, as well as data on the contents of bank safes, will not be transferred to the register. There are also no restrictions or delays in financial operations by individuals due to the introduction of the register.

What data will be transferred to the register

According to the draft law, the following data will be entered into the register:

• date of opening/closing of the bank account, securities account, payment or other account, or electronic wallet
• type and number of the account, which includes the IBAN number
• full name of the account holder or individual bank safe
• data on the institution where the account or safe is opened
• number and date of the agreement on the provision of individual bank safe (start date and validity period, termination date of the agreement, data on the individuals who have access to the safe)

Additional provisions of the draft law

The document also provides for:

• the creation of a Register of ultimate beneficial owners of trusts or other similar legal entities under the administration of the State Tax Service
• improvements in the verification procedure of the data on ultimate beneficial owners of legal entities
• the application of effective sanctions for violations of the requirements of legislation in the field of financial monitoring
• the creation of a mechanism to protect persons who disclose violations in the area of financial monitoring
• the expansion of the list of subjects required to report suspicious financial transactions, including the addition of trust beneficiaries and traders of cultural valuables conducting operations through 'free ports' for amounts over 400 thousand hryvnias

The purpose of the draft law

The main purpose of the document is to bring Ukrainian legislation in line with EU law on the prevention and combating of money laundering and financing of terrorism. This is a necessary condition for submitting an official application for Ukraine's accession to the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA).

'Ukraine's accession to SEPA will allow citizens and businesses to make euro transfers between European countries incredibly quickly, without additional fees and under clearly defined rules,' the Government emphasized.

The Verkhovna Rada has not yet adopted this draft law.