TRANSPARENCY OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP: A KEY TOOL IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION

Abstract. The international community recognizes the 24th recommendation of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) as one of the key tools in the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing and other economic crimes, including corruption. The authors analyzed the implementation of this recommendation in 138 Member countries of the United Nations, based on generalized assessments of effectiveness and technical compliance with FATF criteria. The top 5 countries (Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore) where the level of corruption, according to Transparency International, is minimal and 5 countries (Venezuela, Haiti, Turkmenistan, Nicaragua and Chad) with the high level of corruption have been studied. Research limitations: Authors had limitations due to the fact that not all countries passed or did not complete yet mutual evaluation process, only 138 countries' reports are available. Keywords: beneficial ownership, transparency, corruption, money laundering