Beneficial ownership transparency

Anonymous, opaque companies enable corruption, fraud, organised crime and tax evasion. The misuse of corporate vehicles could be significantly reduced if information regarding both the legal owner and the beneficial owner, the source of the corporate vehicle’s assets, and its activities were readily available to the authorities. This would allow the authorities to “follow the money” in financial investigations involving suspect accounts/assets held by corporate vehicles. However, countries face significant challenges when implementing measures to ensure the timely availability of accurate beneficial owner information, especially when it involves legal persons and legal arrangements spread across multiple jurisdictions.

FATF recommendations stipulate that the identity of the actual beneficial owner of a company should be available to the authorities in an adequate, accurate and timely manner. Banks, company formation agents, and other financial professionals and intermediaries should be required to identify the beneficial owner of their corporate clients.