THE British Prime Minister, Mr David Cameron, yesterday announced thta the UK intends to create a central public registry of corporate beneficial ownership information. Welcoming such a move, the Global Financial Integrity has urged other countries to join the United Kingdom by establishing their own public registries.

Director of GFI has said that throughout the United States and around the world, corporations can be formed without disclosing who actually owns or controls it. Criminals often exploit this ability to create anonymous shell companies, legal entities that are set up for the sole purpose of hiding the owner’s identity and do little or no real business. Such “phantom firms” are the most widely used method for laundering the proceeds of crime, corruption, and tax evasion.

The GFI has noted that solving the phantom firm problem requires identifying the “beneficial owner” of a company when it is formed, and this task has become an international priority, thanks in large part to Prime Minister Cameron. Mr Cameron's announcement follows the commitment by all G8 countries, including the United States, to establish registries of beneficial ownership information, made at the Lough Erne summit.

By also making this information available to the public, the UK is achieving the “gold standard” of transparency, enabling its citizens and other companies to always know with whom they are doing business and empowering civil society organizations to hold individuals accountable for their companies’ actions.