The Isle of Man Central Register has announced it has hired cybersecurity firm SQR to provide “seamless verification” of the identity of beneficial owners of local businesses. This was reported by Global Government Fintech .
Beneficiaries, according to local law, are considered to be persons who control at least 25% of the shares or interests of companies registered in the Isle of Man.
The Isle of Man Central Register, part of the Department of Enterprise, has decided to improve the technical quality of its beneficiary database. As SQR noted, the move was consistent with its “commitment to maintaining the island’s reputation as... a responsible and increasingly resilient jurisdiction.” Contractors promise the authorities to provide a process for reliably verifying the identity of the ultimate owners of local businesses.
SQR entered into a five-year contract with the Registry. The company will carry it out in partnership with Professional Data Management Services (PDMS), a firm specializing in software development.
SQR says the app it will use for digital verification is certified under the UK Government's Digital Identity and Attribute Trust Framework.
Beneficiaries selected by the Central Registry for identity verification will receive emails inviting them to register for the application. SQR claims that this will be beneficial to the business owners themselves - they will be reliably identified, which will increase the level of trust in them from the authorities and partners. In addition, if they wish, identity verification data can be transferred to other organizations so that they do not have to go through this procedure again in the future.
SQR notes that their company was selected as a proven and reliable platform that provides an easy way to identify individuals. Her work will allow government officials to be confident that business owners are who they say they are.
Global Government Fintech reminds that the Crown Dependencies of the United Kingdom, including the Isle of Man, have abandoned the idea of creating a public register of company beneficiaries. Their decision was influenced, in particular, by the position of the EU Court of Justice, which considers such practices to be a violation of human rights to privacy. Instead, the Isle of Man is promising to develop the best practices possible for those with a “legitimate interest” to access register data. One of the aspects of this process in the Registry is to ensure the complete reliability of the data contained in its databases.
As well as information about company owners, the Isle of Man Central Register contains the civil register, deeds register, land register, wills register, public record office and local legal records.
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