Open Ownership, a global non-profit organization dedicated to increasing beneficial ownership transparency across the world, will, on September 23, 2026, launch a new Beneficial Ownership Transparency (BOT) Evidence Centre, a new online library which it said brings together research, investigations, country cases, and other proof points on the impact of beneficial ownership transparency in one searchable, easy-to-use resource.
The organization said it will introduce the library during the virtual launch event to participants who will “hear from researchers and practitioners whose work is helping answer key questions like: What does the effective implementation of beneficial ownership reforms look like? Who is using beneficial ownership data and how? And what changes as a result?”
The participants will also hear about recent findings from the field and discover how the BOT Evidence Centre, designed to provide researchers, policymakers, journalists, advocates, and practitioners with a centralised resource on evidence relating to beneficial ownership transparency reforms, can support their work.
The Centre is designed as a searchable public database bringing together research, investigations, country cases, and other evidence demonstrating the impact of beneficial ownership transparency reforms and documenting what works in their implementation.
According to Open Ownership, the resource is intended to make existing evidence on beneficial ownership transparency more accessible and useful to those seeking to understand the effectiveness and impact of reforms in different countries and contexts.
Open Ownership explained that: “The BOT Evidence Centre is a curated public database designed to support researchers, policymakers, journalists, advocates, and practitioners to access existing evidence, build the case for effective policy-making, and contribute to the growing global understanding of what works in BOT reform.
The launch event will introduce the Evidence Centre and feature presentations and discussions with researchers and practitioners whose work is contributing to the growing evidence base on the implementation and impact of beneficial ownership transparency reforms.
Speakers will include Alexandra Gillies, Chief Impact Officer at the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project; Carol Seregni, Assistant Professor of Accounting at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania; Changcit Jagaba, Head of the Anti-Corruption Department at the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit; and Juan Cristóbal Morena, Head of the Chilean Observatory on Public Procurement at ChileCompra.
Beneficial ownership transparency refers broadly to efforts to identify and disclose the individuals who ultimately own or control companies and other legal entities.
Access to reliable information about beneficial ownership can help authorities and other stakeholders identify potential conflicts of interest, corruption, money laundering, and other forms of illicit financial activity.
The launch of the Centre comes amid growing international efforts to improve transparency around corporate ownership and strengthen systems for combating corruption and illicit financial flows.
