Hidden companies – hidden bank accounts
EU TAKES ACTION AGAINST SECRET
COMPANIES
Posted 18 December 2014
In an important win against impunity for
corruption, the European Union reached
agreement on Tuesday to create national registries that
name the true owners of companies and trusts.
If
the agreement is passed by the European Parliament next year, as seems likely,
it will mean the end of secret companies in 28 European countries. There’s a
catch, though.
The
agreement states that these central registries will only be accessible by
people or organisations with a “legitimate interest.” We think everyone has a legitimate
interest to know who owns, controls or benefits from companies.
Because secret companies are used to
hide the source or destination of illicit funds in so many global corruption
cases, the legal advance is nevertheless significant. It will make it more
difficult for corrupt individuals to hide their identity behind a maze of
anonymous shell companies. It will also make it easier for investigators and
the public to uncover the source and intended destination for funds that are
stolen from the public or given
and accepted as bribes for winning public contracts.
Transparency International, therefore, welcomes
this new landmark legislation to tackle money
laundering through secret companies in the EU. However, we are concerned that
the final legislation will fall short of full transparency of the real
“beneficial” owners behind companies and trusts demanded by anti-corruption
activists worldwide. The identities of many individuals involved in grand
corruption have been concealed through the use of anonymous companies, trusts
and other entities.
It is a fact that the real, hidden
owners of companies are sometimes corrupt, and they must not be able to ship
stolen cash across the world. The massive
money laundering by ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich,
for example, was only possible with the help of
secret companies, willing western banks and middlemen,
something EU governments have failed to tackle until now.
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