31/10/22

GLOBAL REGULATION: 31,000 companies controlled by Russia operating in European Union, says European Commission.

As published on eutoday.net, Sunday 30 October, 2022.

According to the calculations of the European Commission, almost 31,000 companies whose beneficial owners come from Russia operate on the territory of the EU.
This has been reported by Censor.NET with reference to "European Truth".

The majority of European companies associated with the Russian Federation mainly work in real estate, construction and hotel business, as well as in the financial and energy sectors. At the same time, the owners of 1,400 companies were recently sanctioned.

The European Commission report notes that some oligarchs may hide their ownership or control of companies through intermediary companies registered in third countries or local nominal shareholders.

The European Commission notes that the proper implementation of the EU's asset freezing measures requires effective compliance with the rules of transparency of beneficial owners. In addition, the agency advocates, among other things, improved information exchange and "adequate" detection and monitoring of assets hidden from tax authorities.

According to a report by the EU's executive body, it is still relatively easy to set up shell companies within the bloc, which are used to "move hundreds of millions of euros through opaque transactions".

With the help of shell companies, criminals could not only hide the origin and destination of funds, but also the actual beneficiary of such transactions. This money can be used both for personal enrichment and for the destabilization of entire countries.

"Thus, exposing illegal money flows not only contributes to the protection of democracy and the security of EU citizens, but also helps fight the influence of autocracies," the European Commission's report says.