Pilot Clinic on Advancing Transparency in Beneficial Ownership

The Joint Vienna Institute (JVI) hosted a week-long Beneficial Ownership Legal Drafting and Effectiveness Clinic from November 10–14, 2025, bringing together 27 officials from 13 countries across Europe, the Balkans, Caucasus and Central Asia. Led by IMF Senior Counsel Kathleen Kao, IMF Consulting Counsel Luke Rowe, and EU Global Facility Senior Expert Igor Bereza, the clinic focused on strengthening national frameworks for beneficial ownership transparency, a key tool in combating financial crime.

The course comprised a mix of lectures, workshops, country presentations, and group discussions. Sessions addressed revised Financial Action Task Force (FATF) technical requirements related to the transparency of legal persons and arrangements, challenges in effective implementation of these requirements, and legal persons’ risk assessment. 

The clinic fostered peer learning and regional cooperation, supporting countries in building more effective and resilient anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regimes. Participants shared experiences on establishing and optimizing beneficial ownership registers in line with the latest FATF standards. They also shared the unique aspects of their own countries’ legislative frameworks and practices, highlighting practical suggestions for enforcement, verification, and discrepancy reporting.

This innovative pilot will inform future clinics at IMF regional centers, with materials refined based on participants’ feedback. 

Kathleen Kao, Senior Counsel, IMF