Last Wednesday was International Anti-Corruption Day, a day when governments, businesses and civil society join hands to renew their commitment to end the devastating effects of corruption on the lives of citizens worldwide. It was also on this day in 2003 that the United Nations Convention against Corruption came in being. Guyana acceded to the Convention in 2008. Next year, there will be a General Assembly Special Session on Corruption (UNGAS 2021), the first of its kind. According to Transparency International (TI), there are three key issues that need to be addressed urgently at this session:
(a) Transparency in company ownership. Since the release of the Panama Papers in 2016, it became clear that large-scale theft of public resources is possible because corrupt officials can hide behind opaque corporate structures. As a result, there have been calls for countries that have not yet done so, to introduce and maintain a central public register of beneficial ownership as a gold standard;