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A collaboration between GLEIF and Open Ownership has resulted in Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs) being integrated into datasets — produced in line with the Beneficial Ownership Data Standard for the first time.
To achieve the new integration, Open Ownership leveraged an existing mapping partnership between the GLEIF and OpenCorporates databases, to extend LEI mapping to its own datasets.
LEIs are now embedded into Open Ownership data records where entities have both an OpenCorporates ID and an LEI.
The goal of the collaboration is to promote greater transparency in corporate ownership and control in support of safer, faster, and more efficient global payment activities.
The initiative allows for the Open Ownership's database to be easily connected with other datasets through use of the LEI, in addition to Open Corporate IDs and national business identifiers already contained within the database.
GLEIF says the inclusion of a standardised universal identifier, within beneficial ownership datasets for companies and other corporate vehicles, is “crucial for accurately connecting them with other information, such as company filings, licensing information, procurement disclosures, revenue reports, and sanction, watch and politically-exposed persons lists.”
It adds that this “offers significant potential to revolutionise screening processes and enhance support for global anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing, customer due diligence and sanctions enforcement efforts.
The Open Ownership database currently provides more than 27 million beneficial ownership records for 9.6 million companies. It also conducts advocacy for data publishers to use its Beneficial Ownership Data Standard. Open Ownership’s data is connected to the Open Corporates database, to ensure that high quality data is sourced from national business registries in 140 jurisdictions.
In addition to providing OpenCorporates to LEI mapping, GLEIF has also certified mapping relationships between S&P Global’s Company ID, SWIFT’s Market Identifier Code and Business Identifier Code and the Association of National Numbering Agencies’ (ANNA) International Securities Identification Numbers (ISIN).
Stephen Abbott Pugh, head of technology at Open Ownership, comments: "The lack of beneficial ownership data has been identified by the Financial Action Task Force as a leading source of friction during anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism checks in cross-border payment processing.
“By building on the the crucial mapping of OpenCorporates IDs to the LEI, and including this trusted international identifier alongside OpenCorporate IDs and national identities within Open Ownership's database, we can disambiguate entities and extend the opportunities for any data user to connect our high quality beneficial ownership data with other datasets from all over the world. This will improve the quality of available data and reduce friction when it comes to cross-border payments and contribute to a more transparent and secure financial landscape for all."
Stephan Wolf, CEO of GLEIF, adds: "Publicly available, high quality and electronically accessible company data is the foundation upon which we can combat illicit finance and address hidden risks in financial markets and global supply chains, as well as the criminal use of companies, particularly as business operations become more automated.
“The LEI is a key data connector that enables critical data sets to be efficiently matched, and now that it links to beneficial ownership information, alongside many other datasets, its value increases greatly, particularly in the context of cross-border and instant payments. GLEIF always welcomes open data collaborations, such as this one with Open Ownership, which contribute to the creation of a data mapping and sharing network which delivers a broad public good."
