The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the unofficial world crime-fighting government, accountable to no one, has published its newest guidance on beneficial ownership of legal persons.

FATFs laws, called ‘recommendations’, aim to fight organised crime but have the conscious side effect of violating the fundamental rights of all world citizens. The FATF says it has had ‘intense consultations’ with external stakeholders and the private sector regarding the newest guidance; unfortunately, citizens and beneficial owners are not considered relevant stakeholders by the FATF.

The FATF still believes in public access to personal data:

109. Finally, countries may consider facilitating public access to basic and beneficial ownership information. Public access to this information can enable civil society, other organisations and individuals to cross check the information, which may in turn help to; ensure that information is accurate, adequate, and up-to-date and to identify potential misuse of legal persons (e.g., in tax evasion, fraud, or corruption schemes). However, public access alone is not a sufficient mechanism to ensure accuracy of information. In contemplating the extent and arrangement of public access, countries should take into account data protection rules and other privacy, security, and confidentiality concerns, and consider limiting what basic and beneficial ownership information is made publicly available or applying a tiered approach to information disclosure (basic to detailed information), e.g., based on legitimate interest.

The FATF ignores that people on the registers can also be harmed by criminals, trolls and other unsavoury types getting their personal data into their hands. The organisation also ignores that the beneficial ownership system creates a huge bureaucracy that is very expensive and does not contribute to the fight against crime. Should the shore turn the ship?

More information:

• Announcement Guidance on Beneficial Ownership of Legal Persons, 10 March 2023.
• Guidance document: Guidance to Beneficial Ownership of Legal Persons (Recommendation 24) (pdf).