Money laundering and corporate ownership transparency

Money launderers use business organizations, such as corporations, to hide their illegal activities and their identities. Corporations can own property, have bank accounts, and make transactions, and so historically have been vulnerable to being used as a tool to hold or move money anonymously.

Actions to date

Beneficial ownership registry: Amendments to the Business Corporations Act will create a new, public registry for beneficial owners to give people more confidence that B.C. private companies are not being used for money laundering or other criminal purposes.

Like the Land Owner Transparency Registry, the registry for B.C. companies will reduce hidden ownership.

The requirement to register beneficial ownership with the government will be in addition to the existing requirement for B.C. companies to identify and keep a list of these individuals in their corporate records.

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