On 26 October 2022, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) launched a public consultation on its guidance on beneficial ownership.
At the March 2022 Plenary, the FATF adopted amendments to Recommendation 24, and agreed to immediately start the work to update guidance on beneficial ownership with a view to help support the implementation of the new requirements.
The FATF now welcomes comments to its updated Guidance paper to Recommendation 24 on the transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons and is seeking views from, amongst others, companies and other legal persons, financial institutions, designated non-financial businesses and professions, and non-profit organisations.
In particular, comments are welcomed on the following specific issues:
- Whether the Guidance is clear or are there any issues, which need further clarification.
- Are there case examples of registries and alternative mechanisms for holding of accurate, adequate and up-to-date beneficial ownership information?
- Are there case examples of mechanisms to verify beneficial ownership information in low-risk scenarios?
- Are there case examples of the use of information held by stock exchanges for listed companies to meet beneficial ownership information obligations?
The deadline for responses, including any drafting proposals, is 6 December 2022. The FATF will consider the views received at its February 2023 meetings.
