MPs fail to tighten rules on anonymous shareholding

After several hours of heated debate, the lower house of the Czech Parliament failed on Thursday to tighten rules on anonymous shareholding. The proposal, put forward by the Social Democrats, and the Greens, should ban issuing shares to anonymous persons. Supporters of the move claim that anonymous shareholding is often abused for money laundering. The right-of-centre Civic Democrats, who oppose the plan, are concerned that it would interfere with ownership rights. Tightening the rules on shareholding has been recommended by several of the country’s anti-corruption watchdogs, including Transparency International.