Bangladesh, April 18 -- For years, Europe stood at the forefront of global efforts to expose hidden wealth and combat financial crime. A central pillar of that effort was transparency-specifically, making it possible to identify the real individuals behind companies, known as ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs). By opening access to corporate ownership data, European countries enabled journalists, investigators, and civil society groups to uncover corruption that had long thrived in secrecy.

Today, that progress is being reversed.

Across the European Union, access to beneficial ownership registries is shrinking. What was once a relatively open system has become fragmented, bureaucratic, and often inaccessible. The consequences are serious...