Beneficial Ownership Transparency - Practical Mapping & Compliance Insights

Introduction

Beneficial ownership (BO) transparency underpins AML/KYC, sanctions screening, and tax risk assessment.

This webinar provides a practitioner’s map of BO rules and expectations, focusing on UK PSC (Persons in Control) concepts and the practical challenges of tracing control across layered structures, nominees and funds.

Aimed at accountants, tax practitioners and compliance officers, this webinar will cover the documentation that banks and advisers expect, red flags and remediation strategies. It will also link Beneficial Ownership analysis to treaty shopping defences such as PPT (Principal Purpose Test) and LOB (Limitation on Benefits).

This webinar is pitched at intermediate level, so a basic understanding of company law/PSC familiarity and an awareness of AML/KYC obligations is assumed. It offers a UK led perspective with cross border coordination considerations.

What You Will Learn

This webinar will cover the following:

• Why Beneficial Ownership matters
• FATF standards; AML/KYC expectations; sanctions screening as an enterprise risk
• Link to tax risk and treaty entitlement; how BO proof supports ‘beneficial owner’ assertions for WHT relief
• UK perspective and international view
• PSC high level concepts and thresholds; trusts, settlors, beneficiaries, protectors - tracing ‘beneficial entitlement’
• Snapshot of international registers and information sharing mechanics; reliability and update cycles
• Substance vs formal ownership
• Tracing control beyond share registers: options, vetoes, shareholder agreements, golden shares, and negative control
• Look through for partnerships and funds; nominees and fiduciaries; documenting control with board and management evidence
• Practicalities and onboarding packs
• Identity evidence, corporate charts, trust deeds, investment mandates, side letters; sanctions and PEP screenings
• Red flags: circular ownership, back to back loans, inconsistent signatory authority, frequent nominee churn
• Cross border tensions
• Privacy vs transparency; data quality limits; mismatches in thresholds/definitions across jurisdictions
• Alignment with PPT/LOB; why form only BO claims fail under treaty anti abuse standards
• Worked examples
• Layered structure: operating company → holding → fund → limited partners; mapping who ultimately controls and benefits
• Common pitfalls: reliance on outdated registers, missing trust documentation, inconsistent officer appointment records

This pre-recorded webinar will be available to view from Thursday 21st May 2026

Alternatively, you can gain access to this webinar and 1,900+ others via the MBL Webinar Subscription. Please email webinarsubscription@mblseminars.com for more details.