Until now, anyone could check the business register to see who owns a company. In the future, this will not be so simple. The state wants to limit who can view this data.
If the owner of a company is from Estonia, the data is public. If the owner is from abroad, the data is difficult to access. An Estonian can hide their involvement by establishing a company abroad.
The European Court of Justice stated in 2022 that not everyone should know who the ultimate owners of companies are. Therefore, the law was changed in 2024.
Starting from July, only those who genuinely need the data will have access to it. For example, investigative agencies or journalists writing about money laundering.
The Ministry of Finance says that journalists and bloggers will get the data if they write about money laundering or corruption. The ministry will assess whether the application is justified.
The Ministry of Finance stated that it does not check a journalist's education. They look at whether the blog writes about money laundering and whether it is public.
There is a similar system in the e-land register. There, only those with the right can access the data. The Ministry of Justice approves these applications.
Anvar Samost, the editor-in-chief of Postimees, said that the state should not decide who is a journalist. He believes this harms press freedom.
An advisor at the Ministry of Culture said that Estonian law does not have a clear definition of who is a journalist. He believes that editorial boards should determine the nature of a journalist.
The Ministry of Finance said that ordinary people can still check their transaction partners. They just need to justify why they need the data.