Bridging the gap for effective asset transparency: Analysing land registers and beneficial ownership data for legal vehicles

Conclusion

Although based on a small and non-exhaustive set of examples, this study offers indicative insights for the policy debate on BOT of land at a time of growing international attention, including initiatives led by the OECD, the UN Financing for Development process, and wider discussions on land as a vehicle for illicit financial flows. While the analysis focuses on a single asset class, the findings have relevance for BOT of assets more broadly.

The analysis suggests that where high-quality land ownership registers and BO registers for all relevant legal vehicles exist – including trusts – strengthening these existing registers and improving the ability to connect them may offer a more proportionate and effective way to increase transparency over land ownership than introducing new, standalone BO declaration regimes for land. This is particularly relevant when considering potential reporting burdens, risk of information duplication, and data quality. In some cases, land registers collect information on a wider range of interests – such as control and usufruct rights – and their interest holders, than BO registers for land.

From an implementation perspective, the findings point to reform priorities that are often overlooked – notably, the need to enable registers to generate and share data that can be readily connected to information held elsewhere. Foundational technical elements, such as the consistent use of identifiers and interoperable data structures, play a critical role in determining whether transparency objectives translate into usable data. Progress in this area is also contingent on access to BO information for non-domestic companies. At the same time, the analysis suggests that some BO registers of land do cover certain forms of control or benefit that may not be visible through all ownership registers, particularly in person-to-person arrangements without an intervening legal vehicle or where legal vehicles fall outside BO disclosure obligations, as is the case for trusts in some jurisdictions.

Further user research is needed to explore the salience of certain interest categories for specific policy objectives, including reducing corruption, tax crimes, and other illicit financial flows. Additional comparative research across a wider range of jurisdictions and asset classes would help test the generalisability of these findings and clarify their implications for different use cases, including looking at the registration of assets in different parts of the world and in different contexts. Nonetheless, the considerations identified here are directly relevant for policymakers at both national and international levels, as they advance BOT reforms and highlight the efficiency gains that can be achieved through more effective use of existing information.