South Africa's transparency rush: reform or regulatory whiplash?

When the Companies and Intellectual Properties Commission (CIPC) flipped the switch on South Africa's new beneficial ownership register in April 2023, it was more than an act of bureaucratic significance. It was a milestone in the country's struggle against financial secrecy, the culmination of years of political scandal, international scrutiny and a greylisting that threatened its credibility in the global financial system.