- More than 100 jurisdictions now collect beneficial ownership data, but fragmentation is limiting its effectiveness across borders
- Current systems remain largely domestic in design, making it difficult to trace complex cross-border ownership structures
- Interoperability identified as the critical next step to enable global financial crime detection and enforcement
- New roadmap sets out practical models to connect ownership data globally, from international search platforms to standardised datasets
Fragmented data systems are limiting efforts to tackle cross-border financial crime, according to a new global report from the Expert Taskforce on Interoperable Beneficial Ownership Data.
The report, convened by Open Ownership, the Global Coalition to Fight Financial Crime (GCFFC), and LSEG Risk Intelligence, finds that while more than 100 jurisdictions now maintain beneficial ownership registers, the lack of connectivity between them is preventing authorities and businesses from using this data effectively across borders.
Despite a decade of progress in improving transparency around company ownership, the report concludes that current systems remain largely domestic in design. This is making it difficult to trace ownership chains spanning multiple jurisdictions or identify complex financial crime networks.
The Taskforce identifies interoperability - the ability to connect, access, and interpret ownership data across jurisdictions - as the critical next step in strengthening global financial crime detection.
It highlights that [beneficial] ownership information must be accessible, standardised, and usable at scale across borders to deliver real-world impact.
Without interoperable systems, key stakeholders such as financial institutions, regulators, and law enforcement will face persistent challenges in:
- identifying links between entities and individuals across jurisdictions
- tracing full ownership structures across complex corporate networks
- conducting effective due diligence and risk assessments
These limitations increase costs, slow investigations, and create gaps that can be exploited by those engaged in financial crime.
Thom Townsend, Executive Director, Open Ownership comments: “Anonymously owned companies enable the majority of major cross-border corruption cases. Over 100 countries now hold the data that can expose them — but that data needs to be shared and connected internationally to make a real difference. This report sets out how governments and their partners can do it.”
The Taskforce sets out a roadmap to enable the cross-border use of ownership data, including:
- improving access to ownership information across jurisdictions
- establishing common data standards and identifiers
- enabling machine-readable data sharing through APIs and bulk access
- strengthening governance frameworks to support trusted international cooperation
It also outlines practical implementation models, such as international search platforms, coordinated data exchange between authorities, and standardised national datasets that can be linked and analysed globally.
Che Sidanius, Global Head of Financial Crime and Industry Affairs at LSEG Risk Intelligence and Founder and Vice Chair at GCFFC, comments: “Financial crime is inherently cross-border, but the data used to detect it remains fragmented. Improving how ownership data is connected and accessed globally will be critical to enabling more effective risk detection, strengthening due diligence.
The report concludes that enabling interoperable ownership data will be essential to strengthening financial integrity, improving public sector accountability, and supporting more effective anti-corruption and enforcement efforts worldwide.
Background
- The Taskforce brought together more than 50 experts from across the public and private sectors to identify practical pathways for enabling cross-border use of ownership data.
- Beneficial ownership data identifies the individuals who ultimately own or control companies and legal entities.
- Che and Thom are available for interview today
- The report is available here and exec summary here
