How to verify the beneficial owner in the QKB

The Beneficial Owners Register is public. Anyone can view online and free of charge which individuals stand behind a company or organization registered in Albania. Verification works both ways. You can check a partner, supplier, or client before entering into a business relationship with them, and you can check your own entity to ensure that your filings are where they should be and that the data reflects reality.

Below you'll find which data are public and which are not, how to use the QKB public search, how to obtain extracts, and what to do with what you find.

Read also: Beneficial Ownership Register.

Which data are public?

Article 7 of Law No. 112/2020 Defines the freely accessible and public data for each beneficial owner as follows.

1. First name and last name
2. citizenship
3. year and month of birth
4. Date of designation as beneficial owner
5. type and percentage of ownership, direct or indirect

Other data, such as the personal identification number, full date of birth, or address, are not public. They are accessible only to competent state authorities, to the data subject's authorized representatives, and to third parties who demonstrate a legitimate interest.

Read also: The legal definition of the beneficial owner.

Public search of the subject in the RPP

The main tool is the QKB public search., here.

Search by NUIS/NIPT or by the entity's name and you'll see the registered beneficial owners, along with their public information. No account is required, there's no fee, and it works for any reporting entity. When ownership is indirect, it also shows what the business extract cannot: the individual at the end of the chain, not just the parent company registered as a partner.

Here are two practical uses we recommend to our clients.

1. Before a new collaboration, check who is really behind the other party.
2. Once a year, review your entity. If no beneficial owner comes forward or the information hasn't been updated after changes in ownership, you have an uncovered obligation that's cheaper to address now than after a fine.

Status of a pending application

For applications submitted to RPP, the case number assigned by the system is used to track the status at any time. here.

The QKB's decisions are also notified by publication in the register and by email to the address declared on e-Albania.

Extracts from the register

The on-screen view is sufficient for a quick check, but not for a credit file or a due diligence process. In such cases, extracts are issued in accordance with Article 8 of the law and Chapter VIII of Government Decree No. 1088/2020.

1. Electronic extract Public data is obtained without hindrance by any interested person.
2. Written extract Requested in writing using the approved form, accompanied by the payment of the applicable fee. The QKB issues it within five days of the request's submission.

Fees for written extracts and for non-public information are determined by Order No. 25, dated February 3, 2021.

Non-public information and legitimate interest

Non-public data may be requested in writing or electronically to the QKB (Article 7, paragraphs 4 through 8). Obligated entities, such as banks, obtain it when needed for their legal duties. Any other person must demonstrate a legitimate interest.

The QKB reviews the request and, after verifying the legitimate interest and payment of the fee, provides the data within 10 business days. The request may be refused when the beneficial owner is a minor or lacks capacity to act, or when providing the information would expose them to disproportionate risk, fraud, kidnapping, blackmail, or intimidation.

What do you do with what you find?

Verification is only as good as the action that follows. Here are three possible outcomes and the path for each.

1. Your subject's data have been left behind by reality. Apply to change your data within 90 days of the actual change; after that deadline the fine is 400,000 lek. If the bank has detected the discrepancy and you have received notification from the QKB, you have 20 days to update or confirm the data.

Read also: How to change the beneficial owner's information.

2. Your subject has no registered owners at all. Complete the initial registration as soon as possible; fines and service blocks at the QKB will remain in effect until registration is completed.

Read also: How to declare the beneficial owner at the QKB.

3. Pretend to be the beneficial owner of an entity when you are not. The law grants you the right to file a lawsuit against the entity in the competent court (Article 10). Upon a final decision, the QKB corrects the data within two business days.

How long is the data retained?

Beneficial ownership data are permanently retained in the register. When an entity is deregistered, its data are retained for ten years from the date of deregistration (Article 9). Thus, even after a company is dissolved, its ownership history remains traceable.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I see the beneficial owners of a competitor or a partner?

Yes. Public search is open to anyone and any reporting entity, free of charge and without an account. Only five public records are displayed.

Does my personal number or my address appear?

No. This is non-public information and is accessible only to competent authorities or to individuals who demonstrate a legitimate interest and pay the applicable fee.

Can I find the foreign company that owns my partner in the RPP?

Not as a separate entity. The RPP covers only entities registered in Albania, but in the case of an Albanian entity with indirect ownership, the ultimate individual behind the chain is revealed, which is the valuable information.

The company shut down. Are its owners' data being deleted?

Not immediately. Data are permanently stored in the register and, after the entity's deregistration, for ten years. The ownership history remains traceable.

Source: National Business Center.