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In November 2022, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) sparked a seismic shift in the regulatory landscape with its ruling that the public should not have access to beneficial ownership registries.

Join us as we delve into the ripple effects of this ruling with our guests, Maíra Martini, research and policy expert on corrupt money flows at Transparency International, and Andres Knobel, lawyer and senior researcher at the Tax Justice Network, along with host, Alex Pillow.

This conversation sheds light on:

• Why the ruling may have came about
• The impacts the decision had on financial crime fighters and the bad actors they pursue
• How companies and KYC professionals can navigate through this new reality

For recommended resources that accompany this episode, check out:

• Roadmap to Effective Beneficial Ownership Transparency (REBOT)
• The state of play of beneficial ownership registration in 2022
• Reforming Global Standards on Beneficial Ownership Transparency campaign page

Visit out our website for more information on UBOs, and do not hesitate to get in touch – we’d love to hear from you.

Curious how the Moody’s Analytics KYC solution originated? Don't miss the incorporation of Kompany into the Moody’s family. The strategic acquisition of Kompany has proven a win-win opportunity. From a business concept sketched on a tennis ball (yes, a tennis ball) to real-time entity verification from government registers across the globe merged with powerful datasets.

In this episode, host Alex Pillow is joined by Johanna Konrad, former COO of Kompany, now heading this line at Moody’s Analytics KYC as Managing Director; and Peter Bainbridge-Clayton, co-founder and former CTO of Kompany, who is now Senior Director for software engineering in Moody’s Analytics KYC. This important chapter in the Moody’s Analytics journey highlights:

• The challenges of creating a scalable data solution when aggregating information from vastly differing jurisdictions
• The not-so-simple task of entity verification
• Building a skilled team to tackle specialized needs
• The added benefit of real-time data to keep up with rapidly evolving legislation
• Digitalizing onboarding processes
• How the powerful integration of Kompany can continue to propel Moody’s Analytics KYC solutions going forward

Follow along, and be sure to learn more about how Kompany can help you solve the challenges of anti-money laundering compliance and KYB on our website.

Ultimate beneficial ownership of a company is not as straightforward as it seems. This opaqueness begets a system where business structures are created legally, and yet are also the preferred vehicle for furthering financial crime like money laundering, human trafficking, and migrant smuggling. Follow along as host Alex Pillow dives deeper into the topic of UBOs with highly esteemed author and investigative journalist, Oliver Bullough, and Moody's Analytics Financial Crime Industry Practice Lead, Ted Datta.

For further reading from Oliver Bullough, check out his renowned book, Moneyland: The Inside Story of the Crooks and Kleptocrats Who Rule the World. He is also a regular contributor to The Guardian, where you can find his recent article on Britain's role in handling Russian money, the impact this has had and how this relates to the military conflict in Ukraine. Visit the Moody's Analytics KYC website for more information on how to gain better transparency into your network.

Additional resources recommended in this episode include:

• The Night Manager by John Le Carré
• Rather Be the Devil by Ian Rankin
• The Dogs of War by Frederick Forsyth
• Kleptopia: How Dirty Money Is Conquering the World by Tom Burgis
• Treasure Islands: Tax Havens and the Men who Stole the World by Nicholas Shaxon
• Putin's People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took On the West by Catherine Belton
• McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld by Misha Glenny

Have any feedback or ideas for new Moody's Talks: KYC Decoded episodes? Please contact us at podcasts@moodys.com.