CAC unveils ownership register of companies

The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has launched the Beneficial Ownership Register, an open data document that contains the names of persons with significant control of companies.

Speaking at the unveiling in Abuja yesterday, the Registrar General of the CAC, Alhaji Garba Abubakar, said the launch was to foster transparency in company dealings and drive anti-corruption fight of the federal government.

He said, “The launch of the Person with Significant Control Register (also described as the Beneficial Ownership Register) is the demonstration of these commitments by Mr President.

“It is very instructive to note that out of the 43 countries that attended the Summit, Nigeria was one of the only six countries that promised to establish public central registers of true company ownership amidst global concerns on the misuse of companies and other corporate arrangements to hide the proceeds of corruption and evade tax. The other five countries were Afghanistan, France, Kenya, the Netherlands and United Kingdom.”

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The register, which was developed with support from the World Bank and implemented by the commission, utilises cutting-edge technological solutions that support end-to-end electronic disclosure of PSC information by reporting entities to the commission and publication of the information to the public in the form of web-search or specialised formats.

In his remarks, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo, who was represented by Babagana Alkai, Director, Policy, Research and Statistics, noted that the register would curtail to a large extent illicit financial flows and boost transparency across board.