Harry Cassin
Publisher and Editor
Andy Spalding
Senior Editor
Jessica Tillipman
Senior Editor
Bill Steinman
Senior Editor
Richard L. Cassin
Editor at Large
Elizabeth K. Spahn
Editor Emeritus
Cody Worthington
Contributing Editor
Julie DiMauro
Contributing Editor
Thomas Fox
Contributing Editor
Marc Alain Bohn
Contributing Editor
Bill Waite
Contributing Editor
Shruti J. Shah
Contributing Editor
Russell A. Stamets
Contributing Editor
Richard Bistrong
Contributing Editor
Eric Carlson
Contributing Editor
Despite beginning to open up its once-notoriously secret banking system, Switzerland remains the go-to destination for the more discerning kleptocrats and assorted lawbreakers.… Continue Reading
The recent news that U.S. FinCEN records have been leaked to journalists from the ICIJ, BBC, and BuzzFeed News surprised me much more than their predecessor revelations, the Panama and Paradise Papers.… Continue Reading
James Cohen of Transparency International recently published a post on the FCPA Blog extolling the virtues of an open public register of ultimate beneficial ownership (UBO) in my home country of Canada.… Continue Reading
After years of foot dragging, improvements to Canada’s anti-money laundering regime have been picking up pace in the past few months.… Continue Reading
The clamor for public access to open or public company registers (sometimes called “UBO” – ultimate beneficial ownership – registers) continues unabated. One of the latest to extoll their virtues as a means of combatting corruption is Joseph Kraus in a recent post on the FCPA Blog.… Continue Reading
I appreciate the FCPA Blog’s exploration of the topic of transparency as applied to transparency groups, which discusses the different facets of secrecy and confidentiality, and how those concepts operate in different contexts.… Continue Reading
Our respective organizations have long been committed to the creation of a global standard of public access to beneficial ownership information. That is why we helped launch OpenOwnership, whose mission is to support countries to publish public beneficial ownership data that is freely accessible, easy to use and connected globally.… Continue Reading
When browsing websites of transparency groups and organizations that regularly publish leaks, you’ll find that many of them strongly encourage potential leakers and informants to use hyper-secure messaging apps like Signal or Telegram.… Continue Reading
The Wall Street Journal’s Kristin Broughton recently reported on the ongoing U.S. legislative saga that seeks to impose the compulsory disclosure of Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO) information, relating to the use of privately-held companies and most LLCs, to a “controlled-access” registry to be maintained by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN).… Continue Reading
There have been several developments in recent weeks that have struck damaging blows to those who state that open public registers of Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs) are the only answer to global corruption and tax evasion.… Continue Reading
I have been considering the events of the past 12 months from an anti-money laundering (AML) regulatory perspective, and with what we may be faced with in the year ahead.
For me, the main issue arising from 2018 is the ongoing debate I have been having with a variety of NGOs and pressure groups who would see public UBO (ultimate beneficial owner) company register systems implemented across the board, including the Caribbean islands that provide offshore company services to the globe.… Continue Reading
Not only is the UK’s much-vaunted public register of companies, held at Companies House, failing to meet the minimum requirement for ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) transparency, but Scotland continues to be mired up to its neck in controversy surrounding its status as an “offshore” service provider.… Continue Reading
