Digging deeper: How Armenia is leading the way in beneficial ownership transparency

An article entitled “Armenia’s Path to Beneficial Ownership Transparency Paves the Way for Greater Accountability in the Extractive and Other Sectors” has been published on the EITI international website, highlighting Armenia’s progress in beneficial ownership disclosure and its emergence as a leading country in this area.

The author highly commends Armenia’s progress in beneficial ownership disclosure and the achievements the country has made along this path.

Highlighting Armenia as an international leader in beneficial ownership transparency, the author examines the key elements that have made this achievement possible. According to the author, the following factors have contributed to Armenia’s success:

• A Robust Legal Framework

  Over the past several years, the Government of the Republic of Armenia has strengthened the legal framework for beneficial ownership by aligning its definitions with international best practices and the EITI Standard. Armenia has adopted the Open Ownership Beneficial Ownership Data Standard (BODS) for the mining sector, becoming one of the first countries to implement this open standard for collecting, exchanging and using high-quality corporate ownership data.

• Easy Public Access to Information

  The establishment and operation of the Beneficial Ownership Register by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia has been a game changer. It enables the public to easily access ownership information, fostering informed public debate and civic engagement. Investigative journalists, in particular, have made use of this data to scrutinise companies, uncover hidden interests and bring unlawful activities to public attention.

• Reliable and Verified Data

  Ensuring the quality and accuracy of beneficial ownership data is a major challenge, particularly given technical and staffing constraints. To overcome these obstacles, the Government of Armenia has developed a digital platform enabling companies to submit beneficial ownership declarations online, alongside legislative reforms supporting the verification of data in high-risk cases.

“Armenia’s success in beneficial ownership transparency sets a high bar for other EITI implementing countries.

It highlights the importance of the multi-stakeholder process, ongoing legal reforms of government procedures, inter-agency cooperation, and the integration of beneficial ownership data into these processes. This progress has been made possible through a broad coalition of government officials, civil society, representatives of the mining industry and international partners. As Armenia moves forward, its commitment serves as an example for other countries seeking to achieve greater transparency,”** the author notes.

The full article is available here.