New report highlights progress in implementing beneficial ownership transparency

The Opening Extractives programme launched its second flagship Progress Report 2022/23. The report highlights significant strides made across 11 countries in advancing beneficial ownership transparency through legislative reforms, the establishment of public registers, strengthened stakeholder capacity and peer learning, and the promotion of beneficial ownership data use and publication.

Beneficial ownership data is a vital tool in combatting corruption, a persistent challenge in the extractive sector. With the sector facing heightened demand for minerals needed for the energy transition, the risk of corruption looms larger. Over the last year, Opening Extractives has enabled governments and companies to disclose high-quality beneficial ownership data through targeted technical assistance to support countries in pursuing their reform agendas. This support has bolstered political commitment to technical reform, facilitated the establishment of beneficial ownership registers; create necessary legislation; and enhanced the capacity of implementers.

Some of the programme’s key achievements in 2022 and 2023 include:

• Public registers: A new register in Liberia, launched in September 2023, will provide public oversight of ownership and control of extractive companies operating in the country.
• The most substantial work undertaken by the programme in Nigeria focused on technical assistance and on the establishment of laws, systems and software for its beneficial ownership register. Nigeria became the first African nation to release data to BODS format, and it was the first to launch a public extractive industry beneficial ownership register in 2019. The programme provided technical assistance to the Corporate Affairs Commission and supported the register which was launched in May 2023. Nigeria is piloting a tool to identify high-risk areas, drawing on data from its forthcoming beneficial ownership register. 

• Legal frameworks: Ghana and Liberia have implemented new regulations mandating companies to disclose their beneficial owners, establishing crucial legal frameworks to promote transparency. Argentina has drafted modifications to licensing regulations that would include disclosure of beneficial ownership information.
• Data collection: Armenia, Indonesia and Nigeria have reinforced their disclosure processes, facilitating efficient and structured data collection and verification procedures. 
• Data use: Workshops in Armenia, Ghana and Zambia convened and trained investigative journalists to use beneficial ownership data in evidence-based reporting on company ownership chains.
• Capacity building: Targeted training in Argentina, Armenia, Indonesia, Liberia, Mongolia, the Philippines and Senegal, along with regional peer exchange events in Anglophone Africa and Latin America, have enhanced technical capacity among implementers and government officials. New guidance clarifies steps to ensure robust database design and data integrity.

• Raising awareness: Engagement with media and civil society in Armenia, Liberia, Mongolia and Zambia has deepened citizens' understanding of the significance of accessible and timely beneficial ownership data.

Moving into its second phase, Opening Extractives aims to build upon learnings from two years of implementation and insights from a recent independent evaluation, focusing on four overarching goals:

1. Data quality and availability: Improving the availability and quality of beneficial ownership data.
2. Integration into licensing processes: Incorporating beneficial ownership data into extractive licensing processes to mitigate governance risks during the energy transition.
3. Linking to energy transition governance: Contribution to national and international debate on governance risks in the energy transition.
4. Knowledge transfer: Sharing knowledge and building capacity among national, regional and local partners, institutions and champions.

The programme is grateful to its donors, the BHP Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and to national and international partners for their support in driving positive change.