TF8 Multilateralism and Global Governance
IDENTIFYING ULTIMATE BENEFICIAL OWNERS: A RISK-BASED APPROACH TO IMPROVING THE TRANSPARENCY OF INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL FLOWS

ABSTRACT

Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs) are defined by complex legal rules that differ across countries. Identifying UBOs is increasingly costly and time consuming. Gathering more data and refining already complex domestic legal arsenals is not the solution.
We therefore propose a risk-based approach to identifying possible UBOs, which is enabled by recent theoretical advances in economics and corporate finance. The proposed methodology is robust, rigorous and cheap to implement. In the same way that a risk-based approach has facilitated the adoption of transparency standards for banks (Basel), this methodology could constitute the basis for the gradual adoption of an international standard.

AUTHORS

Yves Crama
HEC University of Liège

Georges Hübner
HEC University of Liège

Luc Leruth
International School of Economics at Tbilisi State University (ISET Policy Institute)

Luc Renneboog
Tilburg University

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