Cap. 620 Art. 6202 [CAP.   Cap. 460.

SCREENING OFFICE

voting rights or an ownership interest of more than ten percent (10%) in that body corporate or body of persons, including through bearer share holdings, or through control through other means, other than a company that is listed on a regulated market which is subject to disclosure requirements consistent with European Union law or equivalent international standards which ensure adequate transparency of ownership information:

Provided that a shareholding of ten percent (10%) plus one (1) share or more, or the holding of an ownership interest or voting rights of more than ten percent (10%) in the customer shall be an indication of direct ownership when held directly by a natural person, and of indirect ownership when held by one (1) or more bodies corporate or body of persons or through a trust or a similar legal arrangement, or a combination thereof:

Provided further that if after having exhausted all possible means and provided there are no grounds of suspicion, no beneficial owner in terms of this paragraph has been identified, subject persons shall consider the natural person or persons who hold the position of senior management official or officials to be the beneficial owners, and shall keep a record of the actions taken and any difficulties encountered to determine who the beneficial owner is in terms of this paragraph;

(b) in the case of trusts, the beneficial owner shall consist of:

(i) the settlor or settlors;

(ii) the trustee or trustees;

(iii) the protector or protectors, where applicable;

(iv) the beneficiaries or the class of beneficiaries, as may be applicable; and

(v) any other natural person exercising ultimate control over the trust by means of direct or indirect ownership or by other means;

(c) in the case of legal entities such as foundations and legal arrangements similar to trusts, the beneficial owner shall consist of the natural person or persons holding equivalent or similar positions to those referred to in paragraph (b); "Board" means the Board established in accordance to sub-article 5(2);

"Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Board;

"Commission" means the Commission of the European Union as established in the Treaty of the European Union;

"cooperation mechanism" means such mechanism as established in articles 6 and 7 of the Regulation, as the case may be;

"Council" means the Council of the European Union as established in the Treaty of the European Union;

"European Union" shall have the same meaning assigned to it by article 2 of the European Union Act;

"foreign direct investment" means an investment of any kind by a foreign investor aiming to establish or to maintain lasting and direct links in order to carry on an economic activity in Malta, including investments which enable effective participation in the management or control of a company carrying out an economic activity and any investments made pursuant to a public procurement process;

"foreign direct investment undergoing screening" means a foreign direct investment undergoing a formal assessment or investigation pursuant to the screening mechanism;

"foreign investor" means a natural person or an undertaking of a third country intending to make or having made a foreign direct investment in Malta;

"General Data Protection Regulation" means Regulation

(EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC;

"group company" means, in relation to any company, any body corporate which is that company’s subsidiary or parent company, or a subsidiary of that company’s parent company, and the definition "group" shall be construed accordingly as well as meaning a parent undertaking and all its subsidiary undertakings;

"Malta" has the same meaning as is assigned to it by article 124 of the Constitution;