Beneficial ownership transparency is the availability of information of the ultimate beneficial owner (ie the natural person) of a legal entity or arrangement. It promotes transparency and accountability in the effort to combat corruption, money laundering and other illegal activities around the world. Knowing the identity of the natural person behind a transaction helps countries to fight corruption and financial crimes. Its purpose is to prevent individuals from hiding behind complex legal structures within a jurisdiction or across different jurisdictions to evade a financial trail, and ultimately the law.