Beneficial Ownership Transparency Evidence Centre
About
The Beneficial Ownership Transparency (BOT) Evidence Centre is an impact-oriented resource curated by Open Ownership, that compiles publicly available studies and examples demonstrating the effect of BOT reforms.
It contains academic papers, policy briefings, case studies, investigative articles, and other resources whose findings rely on information from public sector beneficial ownership (BO) registers, or that document effective implementation practices that result in tangible outcomes (e.g. higher compliance rates or better data quality).
Please note we do not include evidence focused solely on proposals or legislative reforms. Nor do we include evidence solely based on leaks from non-official sources; or counterfactual examples that document the misuse of anonymously owned companies, or that result from BO information being unavailable.
The cases contained in this resource are non-comprehensive. Users may suggest corrections, or submit ideas for new entries or functionality improvements to [email protected]. For more information, please see tips on using this resource and our disclaimer.
The BOT Evidence Centre is a project of the Beneficial Ownership Evidence and Measurement (BEAM) programme.
The BOT Evidence Centre is updated on an ongoing basis. Last updated:
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A foreign national who ran for mayor in The Philippines is identified as the principal in a money laundering case involving multiple shell companies involved in illegal online gambling and human trafficking
Show records from 2024 Show records from Philippines Show records in East Asia and the Pacific
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Corporate incorporation filings containing false Filipino citizenship declarations underpin falsification and Anti-Dummy charges against a dismissed Philippine mayor and family members later identified as Chinese nationals.
Show records from 2024 Show records from Philippines Show records in East Asia and the Pacific
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UK HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) uses bulk beneficial ownership (BO) data to detect coordinated mini umbrella company (MUC) fraud through shared ownership patterns
Show records from 2024 Show records from United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Show records in Europe and Central Asia
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UK study estimates value of corporate transparency, including beneficial ownership (BO) data, at up to GBP 860 million per year for private sector
Show records from 2024 Show records from United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Show records in Europe and Central Asia
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Zambia's Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) uses beneficial ownership (BO) register daily in financial crime investigations; 80%+ of investigators rely on it but most still access data manually
Show records from 2024 Show records from Zambia Show records in Africa
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Lack of beneficial ownership (BO) verification enables mass registration of UK companies linked to “pig butchering” fraud schemes
Show records from 2023 Show records from United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Show records in Europe and Central Asia
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UK and Ukrainian beneficial ownership (BO) data helps identify the company that bought the Beirut blast's ammonium nitrate and link its registered address to firms tied to individuals sanctioned over the Syrian regime
Show records from 2020 Show records from United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Show records in Europe and Central Asia
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Beneficial ownership (BO) data from UK register used to help secure wildlife trafficking conviction involving the most trafficked protected species in Europe
Show records from 2019 Show records from United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Show records from China Show records in East Asia and the Pacific Show records in Europe and Central Asia
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UK People with Significant Control (PSC) register: 9.4 billion searches in 2019, routine data ingestions into software by private sector and civil society, and frequent use in criminal investigations
Show records from 2019 Show records from United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Show records in Europe and Central Asia
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One Chinese firm accumulating 16+ illegal, unreported, and unregulated offences controls 17 trawlers operating in Ghana through nine fronts, with no accountability to the ultimate owner
Show records from 2019 Show records from Ghana Show records in Africa
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Cross-referencing BO and quota data reveals ownership links between major UK quota holders and a GBP 63 million illegal fishing scheme
Show records from 2018 Show records from United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Show records in Europe and Central Asia
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Scottish Limited Partnership (SLP) registrations drop by 80% after beneficial ownership (BO) transparency scope is extended to cover them – consistent with a deterrence effect
Show records from 2017 Show records from United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Show records in Europe and Central Asia