Beneficial ownership transparency (BOT) is a nascent but growing area of reform in the LAC region. BOT is driven by compliance with FATF standards, Resolution 9/7 of the Conference of the States Parties to the UNCAC, commitments at the UK Anti-Corruption Summit and OGP Summit, and EITI requirement 2.5.
It is seen as a tool to combat secrecy surrounding ownership of companies, trusts, partnerships and foundations, tax evasion, corruption practices, procurement fraud, money-laundering, organised crime and illicit financial flows. Working with different funders and partners, we have been providing technical support to countries in the region who are implementing BOT legislative, regulatory, technology and data efforts.
We also engage regionally with actors across government, multilateral agencies, the private sector and civil society to build capacity, provide technical expertise and review evidence to shape BOT implementation and data usability.
Countries in the region
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Argentina
Open Ownership supported the Secretary of Mining and the Secretary of Energy in complying with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative's Requirement 2.5. The senate passed a new law early in 2024 which formally created a register under Administración Federal de Ingresos Públicos.
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Belize
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Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
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Brazil
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Chile
Open Ownership (OO) is working with the Public Procurement Authority and the Open Contracting Partnership to collect, publish, and use beneficial ownership data for procurement due diligence processes. OO also supported the Chilean government to draft a beneficial ownership bill that was presented to the Senate in December 2023.
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Colombia
Open Ownership (OO) supports the Tax and Customs Directorate (Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales) in its beneficial ownership register implementation, and the use of data by competent authorities (defined by the law). OO also works with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative National Secretariat to improve Requirement 2.5 compliance, and in advancing the use of data for mining licensing due diligence processes.
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Ecuador
Open Ownership (OO) supports the Internal Revenues Service (Servicio de Rentas Internas) with its national beneficial ownership register implementation and data disclosure mechanisms legitimate interest access. OO also works with the Superintendencia de Compañías for its beneficial ownership disclosures.
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El Salvador
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Guyana
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Panama
Open Ownership is supporting the National Transparency and Data Access Agency on the review of their system and data, as part of their digital transformation project. The pilot is focused on using data and data standardisation to identify conflicts of interest.
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Paraguay
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Peru
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Plurinational State of Bolivia
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Suriname
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Trinidad and Tobago
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Uruguay