Around 31,000 ownership records of companies, trusts, and foundations registered in Liechtenstein have been stolen in a large-scale cyberattack carried out on the night of last Wednesday in the principality, as confirmed this Sunday by the crisis cabinet led by Prime Minister Brigitte Haas and Justice Minister Emanuel Schaedler.
The cyber offensive has focused on the database of the Register of Ultimate Beneficial Owners and, for the moment, only the theft of information has been verified, with the Executive having received no ransom demands so far.
According to initial checks, there are no signs of alteration of the rest of the content or of dissemination on the network of the compromised data, although the Government has indicated that it will provide more details in a new press conference scheduled for this coming Monday, as reported by the newspaper "Vaterland," the highest-circulation newspaper in the principality.
The Register of Beneficial Owners includes the names and other identifying data of the owners of companies, foundations, or trusts based in the country and aims, according to the authorities, to hinder money laundering operations or activities financing terrorist organizations.
Liechtenstein is among the most prosperous states on the planet in terms of GDP per capita and, with just 160 square kilometers of surface area, it is also one of the smallest. The financial and banking business is among its main sources of income.
For decades, especially European citizens took advantage of foundations and accounts in the principality for tax evasion purposes. However, banking secrecy in tax matters was eliminated in 2017.