What is beneficial ownership transparency – and how can it help close the development finance gap?

The world is facing a development finance crisis. Global debt is rising. Aid flows are falling. And the promised transformation of development finance — from billions to trillions — has not yet materialized.

But there’s a powerful and underused tool that, if implemented, will help countries raise more, lose less and spend better: beneficial ownership transparency.

At this year’s Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Seville, global leaders made the strongest international commitment yet to tackle anonymous companies.

The new agreement — the Compromiso de Sevilla — commits countries to create high-quality beneficial ownership registers, improve international data exchange and explore the creation of a global register.

So what exactly is beneficial ownership transparency? Why does it matter? And how can governments use it to deliver development outcomes?

A “beneficial owner” is the person who ultimately owns or controls a company, even if their name doesn’t appear on official documents. Until the last decade or so, this information was rarely required to be officially documented.

Anonymous companies are often used to move money secretly. They can be used to launder profits from drug trafficking or environmental crime, hide bribes paid to corrupt officials, or win public contracts through front companies. Because their true owners are hidden, it can be hard — or even impossible — to hold people accountable.

Beneficial ownership transparency (BOT) means requiring companies to disclose who really owns and controls them — and making that information available to those who need it, from enforcement agencies to procurement officers.

Every year, countries lose an estimated $3.1 trillion to financial crime and $492 billion to tax abuse. These losses directly impact governments’ ability to fund basic services.

In Africa, for example, illicit financial flows cost nearly 4% of gross domestic product (GDP) — almost as much as the continent’s total education budget. Stolen or hidden funds don’t just hurt national finances. They also undermine trust in institutions and the rule of law.

Anonymous companies are central to how this money moves. By making ownership information visible and verifiable, governments can prevent abuse and strengthen financial integrity.

Various examples show how beneficial ownership transparency can deliver real-world results — but only when the data is accessible, accurate, and used, including:

The landscape has changed dramatically over the past decade.

Ten years ago, only a handful of countries had beneficial ownership registers. Today, more than 100 have introduced them or committed to do so. The topic has moved from niche to mainstream, and is now a recognized part of global anti-corruption and development frameworks.

But progress is uneven. In some places, registers exist on paper but lack verification, enforcement or integration into real-world decision-making. Too often, data is collected but is hard to access or not used.

At Open Ownership, we’ve spent the past nine months developing our new 2025–2030 strategy, shaped by lessons from supporting reforms in over 40 countries.

Our conclusion is simple: transparency alone is not enough. The next step is to help governments put ownership data to work.

We’ve identified five key priorities for the next five years:

By 2030, our goal is for beneficial ownership data to be routinely used — not just collected — to support better governance and stronger development outcomes.

The Compromiso de Sevilla is a milestone. It marks the first time UN member states have committed to exploring a global approach to beneficial ownership transparency.

But the real test is whether that commitment leads to meaningful, measurable impact — especially in low- and middle-income countries that are disproportionately affected by illicit flows and tax abuse.

Beneficial ownership transparency is not just about preventing harm. It’s also a positive tool: for raising domestic revenue, improving procurement and building fairer, more resilient economies.

The next few years are critical. Governments have an opportunity to turn hidden ownership from a systemic vulnerability into a system-strengthening tool. The right support — political, technical and financial — can help make that happen.