Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Thad McBride provided insight on a recent report from Transparency International (TI) citing the lack of beneficial ownership rules in many of the G20 nations. According to TI, many countries have rules in place that require financial institutions to identify beneficial owners of companies in financial transactions, but the application of those rules varies by country and does little to deter illegal activity.
As Thad remarked, “From a compliance standpoint, I think it would clearly be better for financial institutions to know the beneficial owners involved in any transaction… the lack of legislation reflects the fact that countries are making a commercial decision to the detriment of combating money laundering.”
The full article, “G20 Floundering on Beneficial Ownership, Says Transparency International,” was published on April 19, 2018, by PaymentsCompliance, a global leader in supporting the payments industry. The article is available online to subscribers.