Central Beneficial Ownership Register

Companies file details of their beneficial owners, such as name, date of birth, nationality, residence and the nature of their stake or control, with a register run by a company registry, tax authority or financial regulator. Access depends on the country. Competent authorities and banks generally have it, and some registers are open to the public in full or in part. A register gives investigators one place to look instead of chasing documents across firms and borders. Its limits are quality and timing. Entries are often self-declared, can be out of date, and may miss owners based abroad, so supervisors increasingly verify filings and require firms to report differences they find. Banks use a register as a cross-check on what customers tell them. They remain responsible for their own due diligence and cannot rely on a register alone. A bank that finds a register entry the customer never mentioned has a ready-made question for the relationship manager.

A company incorporated in a country with a public register applies for a bank account. The register lists two owners, each with 30%, and a director. The customer's form declares only one of them. The relationship manager asks why, learns the second owner is a politically exposed person, and moves the file to enhanced due diligence.