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Connecting ownership data: Practical pathways to tackle cross-border financial crime

Contents

Annex 2. Case study summary – the Business and Financial and Data Exchange

Background

The BIFIDEX platform was launched as a regional initiative to connect business registers across the Western Balkans, supporting transparency, investment, and cross-border trade. Developed under the Regional Cooperation Council with EU and donor support, BIFIDEX enabled users to access company information from multiple jurisdictions through a single web interface. Unlike BRIS, BIFIDEX operated without a binding mandate (participation was based on an agreement), relying on voluntary cooperation between participating national registries.

Semantic interoperability

BIFIDEX achieved semantic alignment through a light semantic mediation layer that translated national register data into a common regional vocabulary. This model defined core data fields – Company Name, Legal Form, Registration Number, Status, and Address – and established equivalences across different languages and legal terminologies. By focusing on essential information, BIFIDEX demonstrated how semantic interoperability can be achieved pragmatically, even in legally diverse and multilingual environments.

However, the absence of an agreed regional data ontology limited further semantic expansion beyond basic company data.

Governance interoperability

The governance structure of BIFIDEX was voluntary and institutionally fragile. While each national registry participated through mutual agreement, no permanent governance body or legal framework ensured long-term sustainability. The Management Board, composed of registry directors, struggled to maintain consistent decision-making, funding, and oversight – especially during political transitions in participating countries. This lack of formalised governance mechanisms led to operational volatility and periods of inactivity, underscoring the critical importance of stable institutional anchoring for regional interoperability efforts.

Technological interoperability

BIFIDEX employed a central access and indexing architecture, connecting national databases through APIs and structured data feeds rather than full replication.

The system’s technical design was efficient and adaptable, allowing new countries to connect with minimal integration costs. It provided a unified user interface and common search tools across diverse registries. However, reliance on a single operational host without shared cost recovery or institutional backing created long-term risks for system maintenance and continuity.

Lessons learned

  • Semantic mediation can overcome fragmentation even in legally diverse regions, if focus is placed on essential data elements.
  • Weak governance undermines technical success: sustainability depends on formal commitments and stable institutional leadership.
  • Light technology can deliver heavy results, but must be coupled with collective ownership and funding.

For the Taskforce, BIFIDEX offers a practical example of how interoperability can start small and grow, provided that governance and sustainability are embedded from the outset.