SEC strengthens beneficial ownership probes against financial crime

Philippine investigators, financial intelligence analysts, regulators and anti-corruption prosecutors strengthened their ability to identify individuals behind complex corporate structures and trace suspected illicit assets during a three-day training on beneficial ownership information.

The initiative matters because identifying the people who ultimately own or control companies can help authorities move beyond corporate fronts, recover proceeds of crime and hold accountable those who use legal structures to hide corruption, money laundering and other financial offenses.

The training also supports efforts to preserve the Philippines’ progress against illicit finance after the Financial Action Task Force removed the country from increased monitoring in February 2025.

The FATF cited improvements in law enforcement access to accurate and current beneficial ownership information among the reforms that supported the Philippines’ removal from the “grey list,” while urging the country to sustain improvements to its anti-money laundering and counterterrorist financing system.

The “Training on Identifying Ownership and Control Information for AML/CFT Purposes” was held from August 4 to 6 at Marco Polo Ortigas in Pasig City.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and Open Ownership organized the program in cooperation with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The SEC participated through the Anti-Money Laundering Division of its Enforcement and Investor Protection Department.

The United States Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs supported the program.

The workshop focused on converting beneficial ownership records into usable investigative leads.

Participants handled simulated cases involving concealed ownership and control, complicated corporate structures and legal arrangements, and the tracing of suspected illicit assets.

Case-based exercises demonstrated how beneficial ownership information can support regulatory, financial intelligence and law enforcement work.

The exercises also covered the identification of possible indicators of corporate misuse and the coordination of appropriate institutional responses.

Participants were introduced to a structured analytical framework for assessing beneficial ownership concerns and preparing referrals consistent with their agencies’ mandates, applicable laws and safeguards.

The SEC presented the country’s operational framework for beneficial ownership transparency, including the Revised Beneficial Ownership Disclosure Rules.

The presentation also covered the Hierarchical and Applicable Relations and Beneficial Ownership Registry, or HARBOR.

HARBOR is the SEC’s web-based system for collecting, maintaining and analyzing information on the natural persons who ultimately own or control corporations.

Beneficial Ownership Declarations have been filed through HARBOR since its launch on January 30, 2026, replacing their mandatory submission through the General Information Sheet, according to SEC filing requirements.

Participants received guided demonstrations on using HARBOR, open-source information and other investigative tools to identify ownership and control relationships.

The sessions covered both legal persons and legal arrangements, including structures that can obscure their true ownership or control.

The training was anchored on the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the relevant Philippine legal and regulatory framework.

It was also aligned with Financial Action Task Force Recommendations 24 and 25, which address the transparency and beneficial ownership of legal persons and legal arrangements, respectively.

The program gathered 45 participants from Philippine regulatory, financial intelligence, investigative and prosecutorial institutions.

Participants included SEC officers, financial intelligence analysts and investigators from the Anti-Money Laundering Council, investigators and prosecutors from the Office of the Ombudsman, and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas officers.

The multi-agency setup allowed participants to examine how beneficial ownership information could support different stages of a financial crime case.

It also demonstrated how information and investigative tools held by different government agencies could be used together.

Participants completed a jurisdictional mapping exercise to identify available investigative tools, clarify institutional responsibilities and determine channels for cooperation within the Philippines.

A delegation from Papua New Guinea joined the training to support regional exchanges on concealed beneficial ownership and hidden assets.

The delegation included officials from the Investment Promotion Authority, which incorporates the Companies Office of Papua New Guinea, and the Financial Analysis and Supervision Unit of the Bank of Papua New Guinea.

The workshop concluded with participants establishing specific commitments and timelines for applying beneficial ownership information in their respective functions.

The initiative seeks to ensure that beneficial ownership information is not merely collected but can be accessed, analyzed and used by competent authorities.

Its intended operational uses cover financial intelligence, investigation, enforcement, asset recovery and prosecution.

Experts from the UNODC, SEC, Anti-Money Laundering Council, Open Ownership and Moody’s contributed to the program.

Through continuing interagency cooperation and international partnerships, the SEC aims to prevent corporate and legal structures from concealing illicit assets or shielding the individuals ultimately responsible for financial crimes.