The Hidden World of Beneficial Ownership

Do you really know who you are doing business with?

Businesses are under increasing pressure – both legislative and from the public – to ensure that they conduct business ethically.  This is being extended along the supply chain and to corporate partnerships.The recent Panama Papers leak once again brought public attention to the issue of who is the ultimate beneficiary of a company and how difficult this can be to discover.

Who owns the companies you do business with?  Who ultimately benefits from the profits they make?  With no single global register of who the ultimate beneficial owners of a business are, companies have a responsibility to conduct due diligence to find out.

According to the Financial Action Task Force: "Beneficial ownership refers to the natural person(s) who ultimately owns or controls a customer and/or the natural person on whose behalf a transaction is being conducted.  It also includes those persons who exercise ultimate effective control over a legal person or arrangement."Every business needs to understand the significance of the ultimate beneficial owner of businesses that it deals with, and effect due diligence programmes that promote the discovery of tax evasion and legislation.

LexisNexis has created a White Paper to help business navigate through the issues around beneficial ownership.

This white paper provides insight into:

• The reality of complex ownership trails
• The importance of transparency in beneficial ownership
• The significance of enhanced due diligence to protect against risk
• Steps for improving due diligence processes
• Relevant local, regional and global legislation

Download the whitepaper