Beneficial ownership transparency and natural resource corruption

Beneficial ownership transparency (BOT) aims to uncover the identity of “beneficial owners” who ultimately control assets. BOT allows law enforcement and the public to track bad actors’ connections to other businesses and hold them accountable for any corruption, illegal activities, or illicit fund transfers. For the natural resource management (NRM) sector, progress in BOT could play a significant role in deterring corruption, particularly corruption that can infiltrate resource supply chains. Regulations around BOT are changing quickly, with dozens of countries enacting important rules to combat corruption and illicit money and trade in just the last few years. Even though many loopholes remain, it is important for NRM practitioners to understand the beneficial ownership rules at the sites where they are working and make use of BOT where possible to safeguard programs from natural resource crime and associated corruption.