A draft Bill to oblige banks, fund firms, investment firms, crypto-currency exchanges, insurance carriers and others to report information to a 'central database of accounts' is on the stocks in Poland.

The firms in question, in keeping with normal European Union jargon, are to be called "obliged entities," known in the UK as reporting entities. The database is to contain identifying information for account holders but no information about account activity. The Ministry of Finance is to run it.

Information about the beneficial ownership of corporate accounts is to be a major feature of the new database. A vast array of officials will be allowed to tap into it, including policemen, gendarmes, prosecutors, taxmen, judges, court bailiffs, border guards, the General Inspector of Financial Information and people at the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau, the National Security Agency.

PESEL (Polish Resident Identification) numbers are to be included. PESEL is the national identification number used in Poland since 1979. It always has 11 digits, identifies just one person and cannot be changed to another one.

As the Bill stands at the moment, penalties for failure to list the right information can run to 1½ million złoties (€350,500) or three years' imprisonment.