CAC Advocates Harmonisation of Beneficial Ownership Register to Curb Illicit Financial Activities, Others
• Says CAC should serve as central corporate data backbone James Emejo in Abuja Registrar-General/Chief Executive, Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, has advocated the harmonisation and centralisation of
The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has advocated for the harmonisation and centralisation of beneficial ownership information across the country's government institutions. This move aims to curb illicit financial flows and related crimes by enabling regulators, law enforcement agencies, journalists, and authorised users to connect ownership information across different sectors.
The CAC currently operates the beneficial ownership register, while separate arrangements exist for entities in Free Trade Zones and extractive industries. CAC Registrar-General/Chief Executive, Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, stressed that the objective should be to create a national transparency architecture that connects ownership information.
He emphasised that transparency works best when information can be connected, and an integrated system would eliminate duplication, improve corporate information quality, and provide a clearer picture of ownership structures. The CAC boss also urged journalists to view the beneficial ownership register as an investigative resource capable of uncovering relationships that might not be immediately apparent from conventional company records.
He encouraged journalists and CSOs to access the information, interrogate it, and use it to strengthen public accountability, while cautioning against interpreting the presence of an individual's name in a corporate record as evidence of wrongdoing.
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