CAC seeks unified ownership register to fight illicit funds

The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in Nigeria has called for the harmonisation and centralisation of the country's beneficial ownership registers to combat illicit financial flows, money laundering, and corporate structure abuse. The Registrar-General and Chief Executive of the CAC, Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, emphasized the need for an interconnected system that makes it easier to identify the individuals who ultimately own or control companies.

The CAC maintains a Beneficial Ownership Register, while ownership information for entities operating within Free Trade Zones is managed by the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority, and extractive industries information is maintained by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. The CAC believes that corporate ownership information should not remain fragmented across separate institutional databases, and urged journalists and civil society organisations to advocate for interoperability, common standards, and improved access to beneficial ownership information while respecting privacy and data protection requirements.

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