20 Dec Workshop on cooperation between National Secretariat and EITI Ukraine Secretariat in disclosing Beneficial Ownership
On December 16-18, 2019, in Kiev, Ukraine, as one of the countries that created the world’s first register of Beneficial Ownerships for legal entities and property registry for government officials, a three-day business visit was organized by representatives of the EITI National Secretariat and Civil Society, members of the Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG).
During this visit, meetings were held with EITI Ukraine Secretariat executives and representatives, National Bank of Ukraine Specialists, Anti-Corruption Action Center, Civil Society Members, representatives of the State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine, Youcontrol, and with the Chair of Open Government Partnership Coordination Council.
Mr. Genci Terpo, Head of EITI National Secretariat, praised Mr. Oleksiy Orlovsky, member of the EITI International Board and Ms. Dina Narezhneva, Manager at the International Renaissance Foundation who facilitated and organized bilateral meetings and that exist opportunities to enhance mutual cooperation between the two EITI Secretariats, in support of issues and specifications on Beneficial Ownership declaration.
Mr.Tërpo emphasized the steps to be taken by the EITI National Secretariat following the activities set out to identify and reflect Beneficial Ownership in the field of extractive industry in Albania, referring also to the Ukrainian practice in this regard.
Mrs. Anila Hajnaj and Mrs. Ola Mitre, representatives of Civil Society, members of the Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG), emphasized the role that Civil Society must play as a ‘third sector’ of society, distinct from government and business.
Identifying Beneficial Ownership in Ukraine has not been an easy process. The business’s refusal to provide information prompted authorities to take immediate steps, ranging from law enforcement, the imposition of penalties for non-reporting businesses, simplification of reporting procedures for businesses, and capacity building for local organizations.
Identifying Beneficial Ownership in Ukraine has not been an easy process. The business’s refusal to provide information prompted authorities to take immediate steps, ranging from amending the law, the imposition of penalties for non-reporting businesses, simplification of reporting procedures for businesses, and capacity building for local organizations.
A representative from the Anti-Corruption Action Center presented the cases investigated and how well-known political and business figures in the country use manipulative schemes to conceal Beneficial Ownership.
A very productive meeting was at the Youcontrol offices where representatives of the center introduced the entire compliance analytics system, which generates a complete profile for every Ukrainian company based on open data.
Representatives of the State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine presented the key role that this institution plays in the analysis and generalization of risk, the discovery of mechanisms of proceeds laundering of crime through the use of entities with dark ownership structures.
The publication of Beneficial Ownership in 2020 as one of the basic requirements of the EITI International has prompted the Albanian side, specifically the Ministry of Finance and Economy, to draft a new law aimed at creating a register that will disclose the names of Beneficial Ownership and accessibility to the entity data.