Unmasking Corporate Owners in Canada

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GUEST BLOGGER

Lincoln Caylor
Litigator focusing on high-stakes, cross-border financial crime disputes
Bennett Jones LLP

Most large-scale fraud, corruption, taxation and other economic crimes have a common characteristic: complex webs of corporations and trusts used to perpetuate schemes and to launder funds. While the “corporate veil” establishes the separate legal identity of corporations for legitimate reasons, it can also aid in the concealment of money and the identities behind it.

By permitting corporate ownership to remain secret, governments facilitate money laundering. Secret corporate ownership occurs when a corporation hides the identities of their true beneficial owners. The Panama Papers serve as the most recent example of the need for transparency of this beneficial ownership. However, it is not a new concern.

In addition to places like Panama, Canada is also an attractive jurisdiction for those looking to keep corporate ownership secret because of its lack of ownership disclosure requirements. But the issue in approaching a solution is not a lack of awareness – Canada is well known to be a hub for these white-collar crimes, facing criticism from nations who have created successful transparency schemes such as the U.K. and the British Virgin Islands (BVI). Bringing the country into compliance with international norms and increasing beneficial ownership transparency has been a recent budget agenda item of the Canadian government, but several factors are continuously highlighted as standing in the way of formal commitment. For example, only 10% of Canadian companies are federally registered, making it difficult to create a national strategy to close loopholes without the cooperation of the provinces.

Despite barriers to prompt resolution of this issue, elements of a successful government approach to monitoring corporate ownership are clear:

  • Strong leadership from the Financial Action Task Force, the G-20 and the U.K.;
  • Coordination with the provinces and foreign governments;
  • A public registry of beneficial corporate owners;
  • Mechanisms to ensure a balance between privacy and social interests; and
  • Successful models to strive toward, such as those in the U.K. and BVI.

Canada is currently a safe harbor for laundered money, but it doesn’t have it to be. This infographic and the steps it lays out give Canadians the steps needed to make progress in the transparency of corporate ownership.

Are you interested in learning more about the latest fraud-related topics and trends that impact Canada? Attend the upcoming 2017 ACFE Fraud Conference Canada in Toronto, October 29-November 1. Register at FraudConference.com/Canada by September 29 and save CAD 100!