Under Circular 26-01, issued on 19 August 2026, entities held through a trust must report the beneficial owners of the underlying trust to the Luxembourg Register of Beneficial Owners (RBO), rather than determining them under the general corporate ownership test. The same approach applies to entities held through a fiducie or foundation.
In practice, this means looking through the structure to identify the individuals connected to the trust. These include the settlor, trustees, protector, beneficiaries or potential beneficiaries, as well as any other individual who ultimately exercises control.
The clarification is particularly relevant where a Luxembourg entity is held through a foreign trust, an area where there had previously been some uncertainty over how the beneficial ownership rules should be applied.
Entities that need to amend their RBO declaration have one month to do so from the date they become aware of the required change. The LBR also carries out automated and manual compliance checks, and failure to comply may result in sanctions, including public warnings, daily penalties of EUR 40 and, potentially, deregistration.
Entities affected by the clarification may therefore wish to review their existing RBO declarations to determine whether any updates are required.
Giacomo Francioni
Alice Pietri – Trust and Wealth
