Kyrgyzstan receives the first EITI Chair’s Award for Beneficial Ownership Transparency

Ghana, Indonesia, Ukraine and United Kingdom also honoured

Chair of the EITI, Fredrik Reinfeldt, today announced the winner of the 2017 EITI Chair’s Award for Beneficial Ownership Transparency at the EITI ‘Opening Up Ownership Conference’ in Jakarta.

The winner was Kyrgyzstan for its new mining law, which requires companies to disclose their beneficial owners when they apply for a license. The law includes a clear definition of ownership, as well as sanctions for failure or false reporting and will ensure beneficial ownership data is publicly available. Accepting the award in Jakarta was Ulanbek Ryskolov, the Chairman of the State Committee on Industry, Energy and Subsoil.

In addition to the award, honourable mentions were given to four countries:

• Ghana recently amended its Company Act to establish a Beneficial Ownership Register that covers all sectors. The Registrar General Department is working with the EITI to pilot beneficial ownership disclosure in the oil, gas and mining sectors, test reporting templates and carry out a needs assessment of the necessary IT infrastructure. 
• Indonesia – For its inter-agency collaboration to further the reforms on beneficial ownership transparency. Indonesia is introducing reforms across ministries through harmonization of regulations, information-sharing mechanisms, and broad consultations among relevant ministries and stakeholders to ensure an effective and sustainable approach to disclosure of beneficial owners.
• Ukraine established the world’s first beneficial ownership register of legal entities, and asset register for government officials. In 2014, the government adopted legislation on beneficial ownership disclosures for all companies. Since then, about 70% of companies reported, including the extractive industries. The data is publicly accessible through unified company register hosted by the Ministry of Justice.
• United Kingdom has established the world’s largest national public register of people of significant control. The register covers all sectors, is open and searchable and has already been accessed 2 billion times.  

Other EITI implementing country stories on progress in beneficial ownership transparency are available here.

Chair of EITI, Fredrik Reinfeldt, said:
“Conferences like this highlight one of the strengths of the EITI process – the global network that the organisation provides, enabling sharing of opinions and insights. I believe this conference is helping to build a global community of experts on how to end company anonymity. It is also a prime opportunity to showcase some of the frontrunner countries in beneficial ownership transparency. I congratulate Kyrgyzstan on its award and note some impressive strides in other countries.”

The ‘Opening Up Ownership’ Conference brings together governments representatives from over 50 countries. It is co-hosted by EITI international and the Government of Indonesia with partners, and takes place in Jakarta 23-24 October 2017. The Conference is an opportunity to showcase best practices so far, discuss challenges, provide peer-learning and exchange experiences. Read more about the conference here.