The Beneficial Ownership Data Standard (BODS) was developed to serve as a conceptual and practical framework for the collection and publication of beneficial ownership data, making the resulting data interoperable, easier to reuse and of better quality. The standard (BODS) contains a specification for modelling and reporting beneficial ownership and control of enterprises. It was created by OpenOwnership and is made available for reuse under an open license. OpenOwnership supports the development of the standard; However, the standard retains its own independent governance by the working group of international experts. [6] The 2009 OECD report states that all companies must have at least one director, although many jurisdictions allow for an appointed director. [14] The name of a nominee director would appear on all securities of the corporation in place of the beneficial owners and, like nominee shareholders, few jurisdictions can require a nominee director to disclose the identity of beneficial owners. [14] Another obstacle is that some jurisdictions allow a corporation to be appointed as a director. [14] In order to understand beneficial ownership, it is necessary to explain what lawful ownership is. Companies of all kinds are required to identify the beneficial owners of customers, suppliers and other third parties as part of the audit of their business partners. You are expected to know exactly which partners you are dealing with. In order to prevent them from doing business with criminal parties, financial service providers, all internationally active companies, are required to draw up an UBO declaration indicating the identity of a UBO or the ultimate beneficiary, depending on the country in which they operate.
A global ultimate owner (GUO) is the person or entity at the top of the company`s ownership structure. The identification of GUOs is becoming increasingly important as cross-border regulations and other compliance frameworks become more important. It can also be useful to identify National Final Owners (DUOs) – the most proprietary company in a country. The ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) is the natural person who owns or manages a business. This person does not need to be directly known as the owner. These structures are not illegal, but are often used for covert criminal activities. Finance Canada`s (FC) February 2018 discussion paper entitled “Review of Canada`s Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Regime”[18] was prepared in preparation for the Parliamentary Legislative Review of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA), which provides the federal legal framework to regulate AML/ATF. [18] The February paper sought “stakeholders` views on how to improve Canada`s anti-money laundering (AML) and anti-terrorist financing system. CF requested contributions on “transparency and business ownership mechanisms” that would “improve timely access to beneficial ownership information by public authorities while maintaining the ease of doing business in Canada.” [19] The resulting November 2018 report of the Standing Committee on Finance recommended the creation of a “pan-Canadian beneficial ownership registry for all legal entities and entities, including trusts, exercising significant control, defined as those that hold at least 25% of the total ownership or voting rights” that would include “details such as names, addresses, dates of birth and nationalities of persons with significant control”. would contain.” While the registry “should not be publicly available,” it could be accessed “by certain law enforcement agencies,” the Canada Revenue Agency, the Canada Border Services Agency, FINTRAC, “authorized reporting agencies and other public authorities.” [20]:1 The Anti-Money Laundering Directive 4 extended the definition of beneficial ownership in the EU to include persons exercising significant control. Examples of CSPs are CEOs, CFOs, and company presidents, i.e.
people who do not necessarily own shares in a company. AMLA4 requires national governments to keep records of CSPs, and persons conducting compliance audits of companies must consult this information. In an ever-changing regulatory landscape, businesses need to ensure they know who they are dealing with by determining who their customers are. With this in mind, financial regulators require companies to establish ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) in transactions with corporate clients.