BENEFICIALOWNERSHIPTRANSPARENCYINASIAANDTHEPACIFIC RamandeepChhina DECEMBER2022 ASIANDEVELOPMENTBANK BENEFICIALOWNERSHIPTRANSPARENCYINASIAANDTHEPACIFIC RamandeepChhina DECEMBER2022 ASIANDEVELOPMENTBANK CreativeCommonsAttribution3.0IGOlicense(CCBY3.0IGO) ©2022AsianDevelopmentBank 6ADBAvenue,MandaluyongCity,1550MetroManila,PhilippinesTel+63286324444;Fax+63286362444 www.adb.org Somerightsreserved.Publishedin2022. ISBN978-92-9269-865-2(print);978-92-9269-866-9(electronic);978-92-9269-867-6(e-book) PublicationStockNo.TCS220565 DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.22617/TCS220565 TheviewsexpressedinthispublicationarethoseoftheauthorsanddonotnecessarilyreflecttheviewsandpoliciesoftheAsianDevelopmentBank(ADB)oritsBoardofGovernorsorthegovernmentstheyrepresent. ADBdoesnotguaranteetheaccuracyofthedataincludedinthispublicationandacceptsnoresponsibilityforanyconsequenceoftheiruse.ThementionofspecificcompaniesorproductsofmanufacturersdoesnotimplythattheyareendorsedorrecommendedbyADBinpreferencetoothersofasimilarnaturethatarenotmentioned. Bymakinganydesignationoforreferencetoaparticularterritoryorgeographicarea,orbyusingtheterm“country”inthisdocument,ADBdoesnotintendtomakeanyjudgmentsastothelegalorotherstatusofanyterritoryorarea. ThisworkisavailableundertheCreativeCommonsAttribution3.0IGOlicense(CCBY3.0IGO)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/.Byusingthecontentofthispublication,youagreetobeboundbythetermsofthislicense.Forattribution,translations,adaptations,andpermissions,pleasereadtheprovisionsandtermsofuseathttps://www.adb.org/terms-use#openaccess. ThisCClicensedoesnotapplytonon-ADBcopyrightmaterialsinthispublication.Ifthematerialisattributedtoanothersource,pleasecontactthecopyrightownerorpublisherofthatsourceforpermissiontoreproduceit.ADBcannotbeheldliableforanyclaimsthatariseasaresultofyouruseofthematerial. Pleasecontactpubsmarketing@adb.orgifyouhavequestionsorcommentswithrespecttocontent,orifyouwishtoobtaincopyrightpermissionforyourintendedusethatdoesnotfallwithintheseterms,orforpermissiontousetheADBlogo. CorrigendatoADBpublicationsmaybefoundathttp://www.adb.org/publications/corrigenda.Note: Inthispublication,“$”referstoUnitedStatesdollars. CoverdesignbyCleoneBaradas.Printedonrecycledpaper Contents Tables,Figures,andBoxesv Acknowledgmentsvi Abbreviationsvii ExecutiveSummaryviii I.Introduction1 II.MethodologyandStructure4 III.RelevantInternationalStandardsonBeneficialOwnershipTransparency5 A.FinancialActionTaskForce6 B.ExtractiveIndustriesTransparencyInitiative9 C.GlobalForumonTransparencyandExchangeofInformationforTaxPurposes11 D.UnitedNationsConventionagainstCorruption15 E.OpenGovernmentPartnership16 F.G20Anti-CorruptionWorkingGroup17 IV.BeneficialOwnershipTransparencyinSelectedAsiaandPacificCountries19 A.Armenia19 B.Indonesia21 C.Kazakhstan23 D.KyrgyzRepublic25 E.Mongolia27 F.PapuaNewGuinea28 G.Philippines30 H.Tajikistan31 I.Timor-Leste32 Contentsiv V.CommonChallenges,BestPractices,andKeyConsiderations33 A.LegalandRegulatoryFramework33 B.DataCollectionandDisclosure45 C.DataVerification52 D.RegistrationandPublicDisclosure60 E.DefinitionofPoliticallyExposedPersonsandTheirReportingObligations64 F.SanctionsandPenalties69 VI.Conclusions73 Appendixes78 1.ListofStakeholdersConsultedforThisStudyAppendixes78 2.ListofSpeakersonthe2022RegionalWorkshoponAdvancingBeneficialOwnership78 TransparencyinAsiaandthePacific References80 Tables,Figures,andBoxes Tables 1InternationalFrameworksCoveringBeneficialOwnershipinSelectedAsia5 andPacificCountries(asofMarch2022) 2CompliancewithFATFStandardsacrossAsiaandthePacific(asofMarch2022)8 3ProgressAgainstRequirement2.5oftheEITIStandard2019(asofMarch2022)10 4CompliancewiththeBeneficialOwnershipRequirementoftheEOIRStandard14 (asofMarch2022) 5BeneficialOwnershipTransparencyApproaches:IssuestoBeConsideredbyCountries45 6FieldswithinDifferentTypesofStatementsintheBeneficialOwnershipDataStandard50 7Summaryof“PersonsofSignificantControl”InformationRelatingtoanIndividualRequired62 andMadeAvailableUnderNormalCircumstance:AnExamplefromtheUnitedKingdom 8ImportantPointsforConsiderationonBeneficialOwnershipTransparency75 Figures 1BeneficialOwnershipApproachesusedby15AsiaandPacificCountriesReviewedby12 theGlobalForum 2DeterminationoftheLegalFramework13 3RatingofPracticalImplementation13 4OpenOwnership’sBeneficialOwnershipDataVerificationSteps54 Boxes 1BeneficialOwnershipDeclaration—TheCaseofSlovakia55 2BeneficialOwnershipDeclaration—TheCaseofDenmark56 3ConformanceChecksinBelgium57 4Cross-ChecksinDenmark58 5PublicAccess—TheCaseoftheUnitedKingdom59 6TheEUFifthAMLDirectiveandtheNRGIDefinitionofPoliticallyExposedPersons66 7ThresholdforPoliticallyExposedPersonsforBeneficialOwnershipDisclosures—68 CountryExamples 8TheOpenOwnershipPrinciples—SanctionsandEnforcement70 9Sanctions—TheCaseofSlovakia71 10ExampleofBeneficialOwnershipSanctionsRegimeintheUnitedKingdom72 Acknowledgments Thispaperbenefitsgreatlyfromtheinsightsprovidedbyexperts,andfromthediscussionsheldduringthejointAsianDevelopmentBank(ADB)a