The concept of beneficial owner (hereinafter – BO) is defined in Article 5² of Law No. 308/2017 on the prevention and combating of money laundering and terrorist financing, as follows:

“The beneficial owner is any natural person who ultimately owns or controls the customer and/or the natural person on whose behalf or in whose interest an activity or transaction is carried out, directly or indirectly.

The concept of beneficial owner includes at least: 

1) in the case of legal entities with a profit-making (commercial) purpose:

a) the natural person/natural persons who ultimately own or control a legal entity, other than a company listed on a regulated market which is subject to information disclosure requirements in accordance with equivalent international standards ensuring appropriate transparency of information concerning the exercise of ownership rights, through the direct or indirect exercise of ownership rights over a shareholding or voting rights or through participation in the share capital of the respective legal entity, or through the exercise of control by other means.
Ownership by a natural person of 25% plus one share or participation of more than 25% in the share capital of a legal entity is a criterion for the direct exercise of ownership rights.
Ownership of 25% plus one share by another legal entity controlled by a natural person or by several legal entities controlled by the same natural person, or participation of such legal entity/entities in the share capital of a legal entity exceeding 25%, is a criterion for the indirect exercise of ownership rights;

b) the natural person holding the position of administrator of the customer, where, after exhausting all possible means and provided that there are no grounds for suspicion, no person is identified as a beneficial owner;

2) in the case of trusts or similar legal arrangements, all natural persons, as follows:

a) the settlor/settlers, as well as the persons appointed to represent their interests in accordance with the law;
b) the trustee/trustees;
c) the protector/protectors (if any);
d) the beneficiary/beneficiaries of the trusts or similar legal arrangements or, where their identity has not yet been identified, the category of persons in whose principal interest the trust or similar legal arrangement is established or operates;
e) any other natural person who ultimately exercises control over the trust or similar legal arrangement through the direct or indirect exercise of ownership rights or by other means;

3) in the case of non-commercial organizations, the natural person/natural persons who ultimately exercise control over the non-commercial organization;

4) in the case of legal entities other than those provided for in points 1)–3), and entities that administer and distribute funds:

a) the natural person who is the beneficiary of at least 25% of the assets, respectively shares or stocks of a legal entity or an entity without legal personality, where the future beneficiaries have already been identified;
b) the group of persons in whose principal interest a legal entity or an entity without legal personality is established or operates, where the natural persons benefiting from the legal entity or entity have not been identified;
c) the person or persons who exercise control over at least 25% of the assets of a legal entity or an entity without legal personality, including through the power to appoint or remove the majority of the members of the administrative, management or supervisory bodies of the respective entity.”
 

In accordance with the provisions of Article 5² of Law No. 308/2017 on preventing and combating money laundering and terrorist financing and the Guide on the identification of the beneficial owner, approved by Order No. 34 of 28.11.2023 of the Service for the Prevention and Combating of Money Laundering, as subsequently amended. The Guide on the identification of the beneficial owner can be accessed at the following link: Guide on the identification of the beneficial owner 

The first one million individuals, citizens of the Republic of Moldova, who apply for the issuance of their first identity card within the maximum established period (20 working days) for the provision of the respective service, including those who benefit from concessions when receiving the identity card issuance service.

Currently, the Identity Card of the citizen of the Republic of Moldova does not allow travel abroad. Although the new Identity Cards introduced as of March 31, 2025 comply with European standards and include advanced security features, such as biometric data, they cannot be used for international travel until bilateral or multilateral agreements are concluded with other states.

Citizens of the Republic of Moldova have the right to hold two valid passports simultaneously, provided that the holder's personal data contained therein are identical. Diplomatic and service passports are an exception.