BIIA Hosted Webinar: THE ROLE OF U.B.O. INFORMATION IN PROTECTING BUSINESSES

We Thank Worldbox for Sponsoring the Webinar

Join us on March 15^th, 2023 at 07.00 Eastern time US,
11.00 UK and 19.00 Singapore

To register to attend the webinar please click here

In recent years, there has been an increased global focus on, and demand for, improved corporate transparency and disclosure, primarily for the purpose of prevention of money-laundering, terrorist financing and tax evasion, and to aid in complying with sanctions obligations. As a result, regulatory measures have been introduced in many jurisdictions requiring disclosure of ultimate ownership of various assets.

These measures have resulted in the creation of Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) Registers in many countries, and especially in Europe, where such registers were a requirement of 2015 4th EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive.

In recent months the access to such registers has been challenged and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) made a ruling on this issue. The CJEU decision in November restricting public access to such registers has caused significant concern about the impact on the ability for businesses to protect themselves from fraud and secure their supply chains. The latter becoming even more important with the growing ESG requirements on businesses.

This BIIA hosted webinar, sponsored by BIIA member, Worldbox Business Intelligence, brings together experts from the business information and regtech sectors, and representatives from the beneficial openness advocacy groups to discuss what is UBO, the practicalities of establishing UBOs, the challenges internationally in determining UBOs and what needs to be done by governments to ensure the information is available.

Join us on March 15^th, 2023 at 07.00 Eastern time US, 11.00 UK and 19.00 Singapore) with these experts discuss:

what is UBO and its role in protecting businesses and securing the supply chain
the impact of the recent decision in Europe
the challenges in determining UBOs internationally
what governments around the world need to do to ensure UBO data is available.

Moderator and Host

Vivienne Artz OBE, NED, Chair, Board Advisor on Data Strategy, Privacy Policy, Financial Crime and ED&I

Vivienne is a strategic leader, advocate and expert on data and privacy global issues, focused on practical and innovative outcomes, with a diversity and inclusion lens. Her current roles include Data Strategy and Privacy Policy Advisor to the Centre for Information Policy Leadership (informationpolicycentre.com), Non-executive Director of Global Legal Entity Identifier (GLEIF.org), Board Advisor to Privacy Culture (privacyculture.com), Chair of the International Regulatory Strategy Group Data Committee (irsg.co.uk), former Chair of the Board of Directors of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP.org), Expert Advisory to GSS-Rose Limited (gss-rose.com), Chair of the Data Privacy Expert Group at the Global Coalition for the Fight Against Financial Crime and is on the UK International Data Transfers Expert Council, providing independent advice to government.

Previously, Vivienne was a Managing Director and Chief Privacy Officer at the London Stock Exchange Group, Refinitiv and Thomson Reuters, leading the Privacy Office and overseeing global privacy strategy and practice across 190 countries. Prior to being a Chief Privacy Officer, Vivienne was a Managing Director and Global Head of Privacy Legal & Head of International for the Intellectual Property and Technology Law Group at Citi. Before moving to Citi in 2000, Vivienne practiced as a solicitor in London, focusing on technology, privacy and commercial matters in three City law firms.

Speakers

Gianluca D’Angelo, Head of Operations, Worldbox Business Intelligence

Gianluca is Head of Operations at Worldbox Business Intelligence as well as Director of Worldbox Risk Management AG. He manages multiple research offices/units in Europe, North Africa and Middle East, ensuring that all the different type of reports are delivered at the highest standards of data quality and delivery speed. Along with his colleagues he was also heavily involved in the development of the researched UBO Report.

Gianluca graduated with the Zurich International Business School in Business Administration back in 2013. After a short initial period in the debt collection business, he entered within the business information industry joining Worldbox AG exactly 10 years ago.

Jan Willem Meijer, Research Director, Worldbox Business Intelligence

Jan Willem Meijer is the director of the Benelux office of Worldbox and Research Director of the Worldbox Group. In the latter capacity he ensures that the Worldbox offices, branches and desks comply with the highest standards of data quality rules. With these standards in mind newly discovered local data sources are also assessed before being accepted into the Worldbox database.

Jan Willem started out in the company data industry back in 1993, while still a student. Since then he has held various roles, first at a Dutch credit reporting agency, before joining Worldbox in 2012. For Worldbox he was responsible for setting up the Benelux operations, which have grown into a solid team of specialists on tax-havens and former USSR countries.

Dr. Henry Balani, Global Head of Industry & Regulatory Affairs, Encompass

Dr Henry Balani is a financial services executive with over 27 years’ experience in the regulatory technology and consulting industries. In his current role as Global Head of Industry & Regulatory Affairs, he oversees relationships with Industry Analysts and Regulatory Agencies with a focus on raising Encompass’ profile as a leader in addressing financial crime through Regulatory Technology (RegTech) solutions.

Dr Balani has advised US government agencies on the operational impact of AML and OFAC regulations in the financial services industry as well as acting as a consultant to several international government agencies including the IMF, FATF and the World Bank. He has conducted panel sessions with senior OFAC, US and EU government officials as well as provided input into the development of the fifth EU AML Directive. In his capacity as an academic, Dr Balani lectures, and publishes research related to the impact of AML penalties and regulations on banking sector valuations in the US and Europe. Dr. Balani holds a Doctorate in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin.

Louise Russell-Prywata, Director of Policy and Advocacy, Open Ownership

Louise Russell-Prywata is Open Ownership’s Director of Policy and Advocacy. She oversees the organisation’s policy, research, and thought leadership. Louise also leads advocacy to institutions that set global standards on beneficial ownership transparency and engagement with multilateral agencies that support delivery of reforms. Previously, she managed the organisation’s technical assistance to governments implementing beneficial ownership transparency.

Prior to joining Open Ownership, Louise worked within and consulted for a variety of civil society organisations and international projects in the governance and anti-corruption space, most recently spending five years with Transparency International UK, serving as Head of Development. Here, Louise was instrumental to the development of work to reduce the role of the UK as a safe haven for international corruption, which resulted in new UK legal powers to investigate suspicious wealth.

Louise is also a Senior Atlantic Fellow at the London School of Economics, where her research interests include elite networks of financial influence and the role of company ownership data in tackling transnational governance issues. She is based in the UK, and holds an MSc in Inequalities and Social Science from the London School of Economics.

BIIA Hosted Webinar