Financial crime investigators have more company ownership data than ever before, but much of it still sits inside national systems that struggle to talk to each other.

A new report, Connecting Ownership Data: Practical Pathways to Tackle Cross-Border Financial Crime, says more than 100 jurisdictions now operate beneficial ownership registers. These registers identify the people who ultimately own or control companies and other legal entities.

Produced by the Expert Taskforce on Interoperable Beneficial Ownership Data, convened by Open Ownership, the Global Coalition to Fight Financial Crime and LSEG Risk Intelligence, the report says the next challenge is using that information at scale and across borders.

A company may sit in one country, connect through another and trace back to an individual somewhere else. For banks, regulators, tax authorities, law enforcement and compliance teams, following that trail can still mean searching separate systems, dealing with different rules and trying to compare data that countries collect in different ways.

Hidden ownership, cross-border structures

Anonymously owned companies remain a common feature of major corruption cases. The report cites research showing that 70% of major corruption cases in recent decades involved legal vehicles whose true owners were concealed, often through cross-border structures.

These structures can help move illicit funds through complex ownership chains spanning several jurisdictions. The taskforce links this to corruption, tax abuse, weakened financial systems and the diversion of public resources.

Domestic beneficial ownership registers have improved transparency over the past decade. They give authorities and other approved users more information on who owns, controls or benefits from companies and other legal vehicles.

The report says many registers still focus on domestic disclosure and compliance, even though financial crime investigations often span several jurisdictions.

A financial intelligence unit may need to identify the owner of foreign companies linked to suspected money laundering. A bank may need to check whether a corporate client connects to a sanctioned individual in another jurisdiction. A journalist may need to follow ownership links behind a public procurement contract. In each case, the trail can run through several countries.

Different systems, different meanings

Ownership data becomes harder to use when each country collects and presents it differently.

Definitions of beneficial ownership can vary. Some jurisdictions use different ownership thresholds. Others define control, senior management or legal structures in different ways. Access rules also vary, with some registers public, some restricted and others available only through request processes.

Data quality adds another problem. Some registers offer structured, machine-readable data. Others rely on formats that make large-scale analysis difficult. In some cases, users cannot easily tell whether the same person or company appears across two separate datasets.

For financial crime teams, these gaps slow due diligence and investigations. They can also increase reliance on commercial databases, manual checks and formal information requests.

The taskforce argues that useful ownership data needs four qualities: users must be able to access it, interpret it, link it and rely on it across jurisdictions.

What needs to connect

At the centre of the report is interoperability: the ability to connect and understand information from multiple sources.

The taskforce breaks this into three parts.

  • Semantic interoperability deals with meaning. Ownership data needs enough shared language for users to compare it across countries, even when domestic legal frameworks differ.
  • Technological interoperability deals with the systems behind the data. Registers need digital infrastructure, machine-readable formats, application programming interfaces and bulk access options where appropriate.
  • Governance interoperability covers the legal frameworks, trust arrangements and funding needed to keep cross-border systems working over time.

The report says progress depends on all three areas moving together: shared meanings, reliable technical access and governance arrangements that let jurisdictions cooperate over time.

Ownership data needs a wider view

Beneficial ownership registers form only part of the picture.

The taskforce says ownership data becomes more powerful when users can connect it with company registers, shareholder information, land registers, public procurement data and licensing records.

That wider view matters because financial crime networks often use several layers of companies, assets and intermediaries. Looking at one register in isolation may show only part of the structure.

Compliance teams, financial intelligence units, tax authorities, procurement bodies, journalists and data providers all use ownership data in different ways. The taskforce says reform should start with those user needs, rather than treating registers as data collection exercises.

Five possible routes

The report sets out five routes for improving cross-border access to beneficial ownership data.

One model would create a global international register linking data from multiple jurisdictions in one system.

Another would create an international search platform, allowing users to query national registers through a single access point while leaving the underlying data in each country.

A third approach would support coordinated bilateral or multilateral exchange between authorities using agreed specifications and secure channels.

The taskforce also sets out direct register-to-register exchange, which could help users follow ownership chains spanning borders, and a model where multiple registers publish data in a common structured format so users can aggregate and analyse it.

These models can sit alongside each other. Some may work better for specific regions, enforcement use cases or data-sharing relationships. Others would need more investment and stronger political agreement.

Standards and access

Practical changes sit at the heart of the roadmap.

The taskforce calls for stronger global policy frameworks, better domestic registers and more user research with tax agencies, procurement bodies, financial intelligence units and private-sector users.

It also recommends common identifiers, a minimum high-value dataset and a global beneficial ownership data dictionary. These tools would help countries align key fields without forcing every register to look identical.

Existing standards also have a role, including the Beneficial Ownership Data Standard and relevant ISO standards. Well-documented APIs, bulk data access and metadata could help users work with data where registers already make information available.

Access remains one of the hardest issues. The taskforce says countries need models that let law enforcement, government agencies, businesses and civil society use ownership data while respecting privacy, data protection and data sovereignty rules.

Funding the next stage

Interoperable ownership data will need sustained funding, according to the taskforce.

Its recommendations call on national governments, regional institutions, development banks and donors to support pilots and long-term financing models. Possible approaches include pooled funding, cost-sharing and public-private collaboration.

Regional pilots could help test the approach before wider adoption. The report points to use cases such as procurement risk screening and cross-border tax audits as areas where better-linked ownership data could show clear value.

From collection to use

Thom Townsend, executive director at Open Ownership, said anonymously owned companies enable many 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,” Townsend said.

Che Sidanius, global head of financial crime and industry affairs at LSEG Risk Intelligence and founder and vice chair at the Global Coalition to Fight Financial Crime, said financial crime crosses borders while the data used to detect it remains split across systems.

“Improving how ownership data is connected and accessed globally will be critical to enabling more effective risk detection, strengthening due diligence,” Sidanius said.

The taskforce’s message is that collecting beneficial ownership data has created the foundation. The next step is making that data easier to find, compare and connect when ownership structures move across borders.