What is beneficial ownership information? Beneficial ownership information refers to identifying information about the individuals who directly or indirectly own or control a company.

Why do companies have to report beneficial ownership information to the U.S Department of the Treasury? Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act on a bipartisan basis. This law creates a new beneficial ownership information reporting requirement as part of the U.S. government’s efforts to make it harder for bad actors to hide or benefit from their ill-gotten gains through shell companies or other opaque ownership structures.