On December 3rd, the End Snow Washing Coalition, comprised of Transparency International Canada, Publish What You Pay Canada and Canadians for Tax Fairness, submitted comments to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The FATF, the international body which sets standards for financial transparency around the world, solicited feedback pertaining to revisions to its Recommendation 24 and its Interpretive Note, which address beneficial ownership transparency.
In its submission, the End Snow Washing coalition reiterated its call to make providing publicly-accessible, no-cost beneficial ownership information a global standard. Publicly disclosing beneficial ownership information in a central registry and ensuring this data is high-quality and in line with open data principles—free, searchable, validated, and with verification measures—will serve as a powerful tool for FATF members.
Also in its submission, the coalition addressed whether or not the FATF should recommend alternatives to publicly-accessible beneficial ownership registries.
Along with the submission provided by the Canadian coalition, TI Canada also signed onto the formal submission provided by Transparency International.
The FATF gathered feedback on Recommendation 24 and Interpretive Note under four themes:
Multipronged approach to collection of Beneficial Ownership information;
Bearer Shares and Nominee arrangements;
Risk-Based Approach;
Access to Information
The End Snow Washing coalition looks forward to seeing the submitted comments incorporated into the updated Recommendation 24 and Interpretive Note.
Read the submission by the End Snow Washing coalition here.
Read the submission by Transparency International, signed by TI Canada, here.