Dr. Murat Can Pehlivanoğlu, Associate Professor of Business Law at Istanbul Kent University, gave a lecture entitled ‘The Future of Corporate Transparency’, to the students of the Business Organization course taught by UNEATLANTICO lecturer Sofía Gómez Pino.
Murat spoke about the lack of transparency in some companies and how this affects the economy. He stressed that this is essential to combat crimes such as corruption, money laundering and tax evasion, which he said are exacerbated by the use of complex corporate structures and opacity in tax countries.
He also emphasised the concept of ‘Beneficial Owner’, which refers to natural persons who directly or indirectly own or control a legal entity and the reasons why it is in the owner’s interest to conceal his or her identity.
To conclude, the professor also reflected on how to improve the current system, suggesting the need for a more effective corporate transparency regime that can prevent financial crime and ensure more ethical business practices, thus offering a clear vision of the challenges and opportunities in this area, inviting students to reflect on current practices and the role of corruption within any organisation.
For her part, Professor Gómez Pino highlighted that it was a very informative class which served as an introduction to the topic of transparency in corporate ownership.