Liechtenstein's Prince Michael has warned that Europe's push to expose beneficial owners of companies has gone "too far" following a July cyber attack on the principality's ownership register. The breach compromised data on roughly 31,000 companies, trusts, foundations and other legal entities, exposing names, dates of birth, nationalities and countries of residence of beneficial owners. Prince Michael, a member of the ruling family and chair of Finance Liechtenstein, supports anti‑money‑laundering measures but criticises what he calls "bureaucratic zeal" that inflates compliance costs for all businesses.

He argues linking national registers across the EU and European Economic Area would "multiply the risk" highlighted by the Liechtenstein hack. Authorities have not identified the attackers or their motive. Despite the incident, the prince expects the European Commission to continue expanding financial‑information collection.

Liechtenstein, which specialises in trusts, foundations and wealth management, has overhauled its regulatory framework, adopted automatic tax‑information exchange and implemented EU anti‑money‑laundering rules. The financial centre still grew last year, with client assets at its 11 banks rising 6.8% to SFr538bn ($659bn), driven by continued inflows. Prince Michael emphasised the principality's political stability, strong property rights and predictable legal system as key attractions for multi‑generational family wealth.