The Impact of Criminal Misuse of Secret Companies on Canadian Small-Medium Enterprises and Rationale for a Publicly Accessible Company Register of Beneficial Owners

This briefing note discusses how criminals can hide their identity behind secret companies, which harms the Canadian economy, particularly Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs). We propose a policy mechanism to deter bad actors from using secret companies to facilitate the proceeds of crime. This policy solution would alleviate administrative and regulatory due diligence costs for SMEs.