No subject

Sun Mar 31 09:34:23 UTC 2013

Beneficial ownership registries should be published as open data
August 21, 2013 in Campaigning <http://blog.okfn.org/category/campaigning/>
, Featured <http://blog.okfn.org/category/featured/>, Open
Data<http://blog.okfn.org/category/open-data/>
, Open Government Data <http://blog.okfn.org/category/open-government-data/=
>
, Policy <http://blog.okfn.org/category/policy/>, Public
Money<http://blog.okfn.org/category/campaigning/public-money/>

In the coming months many governments around the world will decide whether
databases of who really owns and controls companies should be made public
or not.

As we=92ve said before<http://blog.okfn.org/2013/06/25/what-data-needs-to-b=
e-opened-up-to-tackle-tax-havens/>,
we think registers of =91beneficial
ownership<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beneficial_ownership>=91
(i.e. registers of who really stands to benefit from company ownership, not
just whomever it is convenient or expedient to list) should be published as
open data.

*We call on open data and transparency advocates around the world to join
us in asking their governments to take action on this issue, and to push
for concrete commitments to publish registries of beneficial ownership
publicly, as open, machine readable databases.*

A visualisation of legal entities that are part of the same corporate
grouping fromOpenCorporates<http://opencorporates.com/viz/financial/index.h=
tml#goldman//2652>
Who gets to see who really owns companies?

In June G8 countries committed to cracking down on hidden company ownership=
.

The Lough Erne Declaration<https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/g8-lo=
ugh-erne-declaration/g8-lough-erne-declaration-html-version>
 and principles to prevent the misuse of
companies<https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/g8-action-plan-princip=
les-to-prevent-the-misuse-of-companies-and-legal-arrangements/g8-action-pla=
n-principles-to-prevent-the-misuse-of-companies-and-legal-arrangements>
from
the G8 both allude to better information sharing between tax authorities,
and state that tax collectors, law enforcers, financial intelligence units,
and financial institutions should be able to access information on who
really owns companies.

But what about the rest of us? Shouldn=92t journalists, campaigners and
citizens have access to information about who really owns companies =96 in
order to investigate illicit and unfair behaviour and to push for change?
The advantages of public registries

We think that there are many advantages to having public registries of
beneficial ownership information.

Firstly, *public registries would enable the media and civil society to
hold companies to account* =96 by helping them to identify corruption and
illicit activity.

Secondly, studies by the UK, the EU and Global
Witness<http://www.globalwitness.org/sites/default/files/library/Anonymous%=
20Companies%20Global%20Witness%20briefing.pdf>
suggest
that *public registries would be significantly more cost effective than the
status quo*.

Thirdly, *public registries will impose no additional administrative burden
on companies* =96 entailing only small modifications to existing processes.
Making them public is not enough =96 they must be published as open data

For registries of beneficial ownership to have maximum impact, we think it
is essential that they are published as *machine readable open databases*.

Users of the data must be able to analyse the data and to easily cross
reference and combine datasets from different sources. Hence it is
essential that they are machine readable, and available for downloading in
bulk (as per the Open Definition <http://opendefinition.org/okd/>), rather
than published as non-machine-readable documents or through a search
interface which limits querying.

Furthermore the data should be openly
licensed<http://opendefinition.org/licenses/> to
enable people to use it, republish it, and combine it with other datasets.
We think is essential if we are to gradually piece together a *shared,
collaborative ecosystem of data about companies and their activity around
the world*.
Now is time to act

There are several major opportunities to make progress on this issue in the
coming months:

   - The *UK* currently has an open
consultation<https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/company-ownership-=
transparency-and-trust-discussion-paper>
on
   beneficial ownership (closing 16th September 2013), which explicitly ask=
s
   for views on whether the registry should be made public. If you=92re in =
the
   UK and want to see the registry being made public as open data, we stron=
gly
   encourage you to
respond<https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/company-ownership-trans=
parency-and-trust-discussion-paper>
with
   arguments and evidence about why this matters. If the UK commits to maki=
ng
   registries public, then it is much more likely that other countries will
   follow.
   - The *EU* is also in the process of updating and improving its Anti
   Money Laundering
Directive<http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/company/financial-crime/index=
_en.htm>,
   which represents a major opportunity to increase transparency of benefic=
ial
   ownership in Europe.
   - For the *Open Government Partnership partner countries*, the Open
   Government Partnership
Summit<http://www.opengovpartnership.org/ogp-london-annual-summit>
this
   autumn will provide an opportune moment for governments to announce thei=
r
   commitments to public registries of beneficial ownership. We hope to see=
 as
   many governments and civil society organisations as possible coming out =
in
   support of public registries, published in accordance with open data
   principles.

You=92ll be hearing more from us on this issue in the coming weeks and
months, so watch this space! If you=92re interested in discussing this with
us, you can join our public
openspending<http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/openspending>
 list.
Original post:
http://blog.okfn.org/2013/08/21/beneficial-ownership-registries-should-be-p=
ublished-as-open-data/

--=20

Christian Villum

Community Manager, Open Government Data + Local Groups Network
skype: christianvillum  |  @villum <http://www.twitter.com/villum>
The Open Knowledge Foundation <http://okfn.org/>
*Empowering through Open Knowledge
*http://okfn.org/  |  @okfn <http://twitter.com/OKFN>  |  OKF on
Facebook<https://www.facebook.com/OKFNetwork> |
Blog <http://blog.okfn.org/>  |  Newsletter<http://okfn.org/about/newslette=
r>

*Have you registered for OKCon 2013 <http://okcon.org/>?*

--089e01634ec2bf499204e474040c
Content-Type: text/html; charset=windows-1252
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

<div dir=3D"ltr">From the Open Knowledge Foundation blog, by Jonathan Gray,=
 Director of Policy &amp; Ideas:<div><br></div><div><h2 class=3D"" style=3D=
"margin:8px 0px 10px;font-family:OpenSans,&#39;Helvetica Neue&#39;,Helvetic=
a,Arial,sans-serif;line-height:37px;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-size:30px;back=
ground-color:rgb(245,247,246)">

Beneficial ownership registries should be published as open data</h2><div c=
lass=3D"" style=3D"color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:&#39;Helvetica Neue&#39;=
,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:20px;background-colo=
r:rgb(245,247,246)">

August 21, 2013=A0in=A0<a href=3D"http://blog.okfn.org/category/campaigning=
/" title=3D"View all posts in Campaigning" rel=3D"category tag" style=3D"co=
lor:rgb(62,143,128);text-decoration:none">Campaigning</a>,=A0<a href=3D"htt=
p://blog.okfn.org/category/featured/" title=3D"View all posts in Featured" =
rel=3D"category tag" style=3D"color:rgb(62,143,128);text-decoration:none">F=
eatured</a>,=A0<a href=3D"http://blog.okfn.org/category/open-data/" title=
=3D"View all posts in Open Data" rel=3D"category tag" style=3D"color:rgb(62=
,143,128);text-decoration:none">Open Data</a>,=A0<a href=3D"http://blog.okf=
n.org/category/open-government-data/" title=3D"View all posts in Open Gover=
nment Data" rel=3D"category tag" style=3D"color:rgb(62,143,128);text-decora=
tion:none">Open Government Data</a>,=A0<a href=3D"http://blog.okfn.org/cate=
gory/policy/" title=3D"View all posts in Policy" rel=3D"category tag" style=
=3D"color:rgb(62,143,128);text-decoration:none">Policy</a>,=A0<a href=3D"ht=
tp://blog.okfn.org/category/campaigning/public-money/" title=3D"View all po=
sts in Public Money" rel=3D"category tag" style=3D"color:rgb(62,143,128);te=
xt-decoration:none">Public Money</a><br>

<br></div><div class=3D"" style=3D"color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:&#39;Hel=
vetica Neue&#39;,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:20px=
;background-color:rgb(245,247,246)"><p style=3D"margin:0px 0px 10px">In the=
 coming months many governments around the world will decide whether databa=
ses of who really owns and controls companies should be made public or not.=
</p>

As we=92ve=A0<a href=3D"http://blog.okfn.o=
rg/2013/06/25/what-data-needs-to-be-opened-up-to-tackle-tax-havens/" style=
=3D"color:rgb(62,143,128);text-decoration:none">said before</a>, we think r=
egisters of =91<a href=3D"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beneficial_ownership=
" style=3D"color:rgb(62,143,128);text-decoration:none">beneficial ownership=
</a>=91 (i.e. registers of who really stands to benefit from company owners=
hip, not just whomever it is convenient or expedient to list) should be pub=
lished as open data.

<p style=3D"margin:0px 0px 10px"><strong>We call on open data and transpare=
ncy advocates around the world to join us in asking their governments to ta=
ke action on this issue, and to push for concrete commitments to publish re=
gistries of beneficial ownership publicly, as open, machine readable databa=
ses.</strong></p>

<div class=3D"" style=3D"background-color:rgb(240,240,240);padding:5px 0px;=
border-top-left-radius:3px;border-top-right-radius:3px;border-bottom-right-=
radius:3px;border-bottom-left-radius:3px;margin:20px auto;text-align:center=
;max-width:100%;width:510px">

<img src=3D"http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3726/9545559057_5e717bfee5_z.jpg"=
 alt=3D"" style=3D"height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; b=
order: 0px;"><p class=3D"" style=3D"margin:0px;padding:5px 10px 0px;font-si=
ze:12px;line-height:16px;text-align:left">

A visualisation of legal entities that are part of the same corporate group=
ing from<a href=3D"http://opencorporates.com/viz/financial/index.html#goldm=
an//2652" style=3D"color:rgb(62,143,128);text-decoration:none">OpenCorporat=
es</a></p>

</div><h4 style=3D"margin:10px 0px;font-family:OpenSans,&#39;Helvetica Neue=
&#39;,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;line-height:25px;color:inherit;font-size:2=
0px">Who gets to see who really owns companies?</h4><p style=3D"margin:0px =
0px 10px">

In June G8 countries committed to cracking down on hidden company ownership=
.</p><p style=3D"margin:0px 0px 10px">The=A0<a href=3D"https://www.gov.uk/g=
overnment/publications/g8-lough-erne-declaration/g8-lough-erne-declaration-=
html-version" style=3D"color:rgb(62,143,128);text-decoration:none">Lough Er=
ne Declaration</a>=A0and=A0<a href=3D"https://www.gov.uk/government/publica=
tions/g8-action-plan-principles-to-prevent-the-misuse-of-companies-and-lega=
l-arrangements/g8-action-plan-principles-to-prevent-the-misuse-of-companies=
-and-legal-arrangements" style=3D"color:rgb(62,143,128);text-decoration:non=
e">principles to prevent the misuse of companies</a>=A0from the G8 both all=
ude to better information sharing between tax authorities, and state that t=
ax collectors, law enforcers, financial intelligence units, and financial i=
nstitutions should be able to access information on who really owns compani=
es.</p>

But what about the rest of us? Shouldn=92t=
 journalists, campaigners and citizens have access to information about who=
 really owns companies =96 in order to investigate illicit and unfair behav=
iour and to push for change?

<h4 style=3D"margin:10px 0px;font-family:OpenSans,&#39;Helvetica Neue&#39;,=
Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;line-height:25px;color:inherit;font-size:20px">T=
he advantages of public registries</h4><p style=3D"margin:0px 0px 10px">We =
think that there are many advantages to having public registries of benefic=
ial ownership information.</p>

<p style=3D"margin:0px 0px 10px">Firstly,=A0<strong>public registries would=
 enable the media and civil society to hold companies to account</strong>=
=A0=96 by helping them to identify corruption and illicit activity.</p><p s=
tyle=3D"margin:0px 0px 10px">

Secondly,=A0<a href=3D"http://www.globalwitness.org/sites/default/files/lib=
rary/Anonymous%20Companies%20Global%20Witness%20briefing.pdf" style=3D"colo=
r:rgb(62,143,128);text-decoration:none">studies by the UK, the EU and Globa=
l Witness</a>=A0suggest that=A0<strong>public registries would be significa=
ntly more cost effective than the status quo</strong>.</p>

<p style=3D"margin:0px 0px 10px">Thirdly,=A0<strong>public registries will =
impose no additional administrative burden on companies</strong>=A0=96 enta=
iling only small modifications to existing processes.</p><h4 style=3D"margi=
n:10px 0px;font-family:OpenSans,&#39;Helvetica Neue&#39;,Helvetica,Arial,sa=
ns-serif;line-height:25px;color:inherit;font-size:20px">

Making them public is not enough =96 they must be published as open data</h=
4><p style=3D"margin:0px 0px 10px">For registries of beneficial ownership t=
o have maximum impact, we think it is essential that they are published as=
=A0<strong>machine readable open databases</strong>.</p>

Users of the data must be able to analyse =
the data and to easily cross reference and combine datasets from different =
sources. Hence it is essential that they are machine readable, and availabl=
e for downloading in bulk (as per the=A0<a href=3D"http://opendefinition.or=
g/okd/" style=3D"color:rgb(62,143,128);text-decoration:none">Open Definitio=
n</a>), rather than published as non-machine-readable documents or through =
a search interface which limits querying.

Furthermore the data should be=A0<a href=
=3D"http://opendefinition.org/licenses/" style=3D"color:rgb(62,143,128);tex=
t-decoration:none">openly licensed</a>=A0to enable people to use it, republ=
ish it, and combine it with other datasets. We think is essential if we are=
 to gradually piece together a=A0shared, collaborative ecosystem of=
 data about companies and their activity around the world.

<h4 style=3D"margin:10px 0px;font-family:OpenSans,&#39;Helvetica Neue&#39;,=
Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;line-height:25px;color:inherit;font-size:20px">N=
ow is time to act</h4><p style=3D"margin:0px 0px 10px">There are several ma=
jor opportunities to make progress on this issue in the coming months:</p>

<ul style=3D"padding:0px;margin:0px 0px 10px 25px"><li>The=A0<strong>UK</st=
rong>=A0currently has an=A0<a href=3D"https://www.gov.uk/government/consult=
ations/company-ownership-transparency-and-trust-discussion-paper" style=3D"=
color:rgb(62,143,128);text-decoration:none">open consultation</a>=A0on bene=
ficial ownership (closing 16th September 2013), which explicitly asks for v=
iews on whether the registry should be made public. If you=92re in the UK a=
nd want to see the registry being made public as open data, we=A0<a href=3D=
"https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/company-ownership-transparency=
-and-trust-discussion-paper" style=3D"color:rgb(62,143,128);text-decoration=
:none">strongly encourage you to respond</a>=A0with arguments and evidence =
about why this matters. If the UK commits to making registries public, then=
 it is much more likely that other countries will follow.</li>

<li>The=A0<strong>EU</strong>=A0is also in the process of updating and impr=
oving its=A0<a href=3D"http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/company/financia=
l-crime/index_en.htm" style=3D"color:rgb(62,143,128);text-decoration:none">=
Anti Money Laundering Directive</a>, which represents a major opportunity t=
o increase transparency of beneficial ownership in Europe.</li>

<li>For the=A0<strong>Open Government Partnership partner countries</strong=
>, the=A0<a href=3D"http://www.opengovpartnership.org/ogp-london-annual-sum=
mit" style=3D"color:rgb(62,143,128);text-decoration:none">Open Government P=
artnership Summit</a>=A0this autumn will provide an opportune moment for go=
vernments to announce their commitments to public registries of beneficial =
ownership. We hope to see as many governments and civil society organisatio=
ns as possible coming out in support of public registries, published in acc=
ordance with open data principles.</li>

</ul>You=92ll be hearing more from us on t=
his issue in the coming weeks and months, so watch this space! If you=92re =
interested in discussing this with us, you can join our public=A0<a href=3D=
"http://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/openspending" style=3D"color:rgb(62=
,143,128);text-decoration:none">openspending</a>=A0list.

</div><span style=3D"color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:&#39;Helvetica Neue&#3=
9;,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:20px;background-co=
lor:rgb(245,247,246)">Original post: <a href=3D"http://blog.okfn.org/2013/0=
8/21/beneficial-ownership-registries-should-be-published-as-open-data/">htt=
p://blog.okfn.org/2013/08/21/beneficial-ownership-registries-should-be-publ=
ished-as-open-data/</a></span><br clear=3D"all">

<div><div dir=3D"ltr">

<p>--=A0</p>
<p>Christian Villum</p>
<p><span>Community Manager, Open Government Data +=A0</span><span>Local Gro=
ups Network<br></span>skype: christianvillum =A0| =A0<a href=3D"http://www.=
twitter.com/villum" target=3D"_blank">@villum</a><br>The<a href=3D"http://o=
kfn.org/" target=3D"_blank"> <span>Open Knowledge Foundation</span></a><spa=
n><br>

</span><i>Empowering through Open Knowledge<br></i><span><a href=3D"http://=
okfn.org/" target=3D"_blank">http://okfn.org/</a></span> =A0| <a href=3D"ht=
tp://twitter.com/OKFN" target=3D"_blank">=A0<span>@okfn</span></a> =A0| <a =
href=3D"https://www.facebook.com/OKFNetwork" target=3D"_blank">=A0<span>OKF=
 on Facebook</span></a> =A0|<a href=3D"http://blog.okfn.org/" target=3D"_bl=
ank"> =A0<span>Blog</span></a> =A0|<a href=3D"http://okfn.org/about/newslet=
ter" target=3D"_blank"> =A0<span>Newsletter</span></a></p>

<p><i>Have you registered for=A0<a href=3D"http://okcon.org/" style=3D"colo=
r:rgb(17,85,204)" target=3D"_blank">OKCon 2013</a>?</i><br></p></div></div>
<div dir=3D"ltr"><br></div></div></div>

--089e01634ec2bf499204e474040c--