Transparency International has endorsed the  adoption of a revised global standard on beneficial ownership transparency by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The new standard, announced on Friday, makes it simpler for the international community to deter corrupt officials from using shell companies to manipulate the global financial system.

“Transparency International welcomes the adoption of a revised global standard on beneficial ownership transparency as a major step to curb dirty money,” the anti graft company said on Monday.

On Friday, the task force’s Recommendation 24 now requires that every country sets up a beneficial ownership register or sufficient alternative to allow governments to see who owns or controls a company. 

“The Financial Action Task Force today adopted amendments to Recommendation 24 and its Interpretive Note which require countries to prevent the misuse of legal persons for money laundering or terrorist financing and to ensure that there is adequate, accurate and up-to-date information on the beneficial ownership and control of legal persons,” the task force said on Friday.

The task force is an intergovernmental organisation that sets standards to curb money laundering. It was created by the Group of Seven nations at a summit in 1989 and is made up of 39 members, including the G7, China, Russia and other economies in South America and Africa.

The task force’s goal was to protect financial systems from criminal activity such as drug trafficking, and also has established guidelines for national laws and how to manage account data.

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the task force created criteria to combating terrorist financing. 

In 2019, Transparency International had asked the task force to rectify the global standards on beneficial ownership transparency.

The body asked for public, central registers as a key measure to end the cycle of anonymously-owned companies globally.