CAC: Seeks Unified, Harmonised Beneficial Ownership Register Nigeria

• Nigeria's Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) is advocating for a centralised and harmonised beneficial ownership register.
• This initiative aims to combat illicit financial flows, money laundering, and the misuse of corporate structures by identifying ultimate owners.
• The CAC proposes its corporate registry serve as the central data backbone, integrating information currently held by separate bodies like NEPZA and NEITI.
• The Registrar-General emphasized the need for interoperability and common standards to ensure comprehensive transparency across all sectors.
• A unified register is seen as crucial for corporate accountability and protecting public resources by providing a complete picture of corporate ownership.

If the objective is transparency and accountability, then critical information should not be confined to isolated silos.

Nigeria's Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has issued a strong call for the harmonisation and centralisation of the nation's beneficial ownership registers. This strategic move is aimed at significantly bolstering efforts to combat illicit financial flows, money laundering, and the pervasive abuse of corporate structures within the country. Speaking at a recent training session in Abuja for journalists and civil society organisations, Hussaini Magaji, the Registrar-General and Chief Executive of the CAC, underscored the urgent need for an interconnected system capable of easily identifying the individuals who ultimately own or control companies.

The commission's position is clear: corporate ownership information should not remain fragmented across disparate institutional databases, particularly when companies operate across multiple sectors. The CAC envisions a coordinated national framework where beneficial ownership information is centralised, with the CAC corporate registry serving as the primary corporate data backbone. This proposed CAC unified beneficial ownership register Nigeria is seen as essential for achieving comprehensive transparency.

Currently, beneficial ownership data is maintained by several distinct bodies. The CAC itself manages a Beneficial Ownership Register, while the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) oversees information for entities within Free Trade Zones. Similarly, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) holds beneficial ownership details pertinent to the extractive industries. The Registrar-General highlighted that despite these separate systems, their fundamental objective remains identical: to identify the natural persons behind corporate structures.

The push for a unified system comes amidst broader national efforts to enhance corporate transparency and prevent the exploitation of companies for corruption, tax evasion, and other illicit financial activities. The Registrar-General clarified that the proposed integration is not intended to diminish the legitimate statutory responsibilities of bodies like NEPZA or NEITI. Instead, it aims to 'connect the dots,' ensuring that the Nigerian beneficial ownership ecosystem operates with a singular voice, consistent standards, and an elevated level of transparency.

Magaji stressed that if the overarching goal is transparency and accountability, then critical information should not be confined to isolated silos. He argued that it must be possible to obtain a complete picture of a company's ownership, regardless of its operational diversity across different sectors or regulatory environments. The underlying corporate information, he noted, is often already linked to records within the CAC corporate registry, making improved coordination among these institutions a logical and necessary step.

He further urged journalists and civil society organisations to actively advocate for greater interoperability between existing registers, the establishment of common standards, and enhanced access to beneficial ownership information, all while upholding legitimate privacy and data protection requirements. He challenged these groups to question why beneficial ownership data remains fragmented, to push for interoperability, and to demand the elimination of duplication across systems, thereby fostering true Nigeria beneficial ownership harmonisation.

The significance of beneficial ownership transparency extends far beyond mere bureaucratic compliance; it is a vital instrument for fostering corporate accountability and safeguarding public resources. A unified and accessible register would empower stakeholders, including the media, to conduct more thorough investigations into companies, transactions, procurement arrangements, and complex business relationships.

By revealing the ultimate individuals who control corporate entities, the CAC unified beneficial ownership register Nigeria could serve as a powerful tool in uncovering hidden interests and preventing the misuse of corporate vehicles. The Registrar-General reiterated that the core questions all these systems seek to answer are fundamentally the same: 'Who owns this entity? Who controls it? Who benefits from it? And who is the natural person behind the corporate structure?' A consolidated approach is therefore critical to effectively address these questions and ensure that the complete ownership structure is visible and verifiable, thereby strengthening Nigeria anti-money laundering transparency efforts.

This development signals a future shift towards a more integrated and transparent beneficial ownership reporting system in Nigeria. Lawyers and compliance officers should monitor legislative and regulatory changes closely, as a unified register will impact corporate structuring advice, due diligence processes, and anti-money laundering compliance requirements, potentially increasing scrutiny on ultimate beneficial owners.

Source: Original reporting via The Punch