Stephen Abbott Pugh
@stephenabbottpugh.bsky.social
Beneficial ownership transparency, data and standardisation expert. Offering technical guidance and consultancy support https://www.beneficialownership.co.uk/
Talk to me about the Beneficial Ownership Data Standard https://standard.openownership.org/
Talk to me about the Beneficial Ownership Data Standard https://standard.openownership.org/
Reposted by Stephen Abbott Pugh
EXCLUSIVE: US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff advised Russia on how to pitch Ukraine plans to Trump, in audio files reviewed by Bloomberg
Witkoff Advised Russia on How to Pitch Ukraine Plan to Trump
US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, fresh from the triumph of the Gaza peace deal, held a phone call last month with a senior Kremlin official to suggest they work together on a similar plan for Ukraine — and that Vladimir Putin should raise it with Donald Trump.
bloom.bg
November 25, 2025 at 7:52 PM
EXCLUSIVE: US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff advised Russia on how to pitch Ukraine plans to Trump, in audio files reviewed by Bloomberg
"The Russian businessmen who funded the policies and were insured under them used a complex structure of tiered trusts and shell companies ... The policy arrangements involved Swiss Life subsidiaries in Luxembourg and Liechtenstein" - @taxnotes.com + @icij.org www.taxnotes.com/featured-new...
Before Switzerland’s largest life insurance company agreed to pay the U.S. government more than $77 million for facilitating tax evasion, it arranged private placement life insurance policies for Russian oligarchs, leaked documents from @icij.org show.
Read more: https://taxnotes.co/3XdFjUq
Read more: https://taxnotes.co/3XdFjUq
November 25, 2025 at 9:05 PM
"The Russian businessmen who funded the policies and were insured under them used a complex structure of tiered trusts and shell companies ... The policy arrangements involved Swiss Life subsidiaries in Luxembourg and Liechtenstein" - @taxnotes.com + @icij.org www.taxnotes.com/featured-new...
Reposted by Stephen Abbott Pugh
Do you have strong feelings on whether Community Notes can work/do work/don't work? If so, please do take part in helping the Oversight Board's work on how/whether they should be rolled out beyond the US
Meta is seeking the Oversight Board’s opinion as it expands the community notes program beyond the United States. The Board will give input on which countries to include and how to scale the rollout.
More details: www.oversightboard.com/news/board-t...
More details: www.oversightboard.com/news/board-t...
November 25, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Do you have strong feelings on whether Community Notes can work/do work/don't work? If so, please do take part in helping the Oversight Board's work on how/whether they should be rolled out beyond the US
Reposted by Stephen Abbott Pugh
You can even put an exact date on the day when Brussels finally gave up on its decade-long dream of seeking to be the predominant global tech regulator that would rein in American tech titans like Google and Apple.
It came last Wednesday — Nov. 19.
It came last Wednesday — Nov. 19.
Brussels is done being the world’s digital policeman
The “Brussels Effect” is dead. Now Washington is setting the pace on deregulation in Europe.
www.politico.eu
November 25, 2025 at 8:07 AM
You can even put an exact date on the day when Brussels finally gave up on its decade-long dream of seeking to be the predominant global tech regulator that would rein in American tech titans like Google and Apple.
It came last Wednesday — Nov. 19.
It came last Wednesday — Nov. 19.
Luxembourg 🇱🇺 and Sweden 🇸🇪 have been added to the EU's Beneficial ownership registers interconnection system (BORIS) which competent authority and obliged entity users can use to search for beneficial ownership documents from across 14 EU member states
e-justice.europa.eu/topics/regis...
e-justice.europa.eu/topics/regis...
Beneficial ownership registers interconnection system (BORIS) | European e-Justice Portal
The Beneficial Ownership Register Interconnection System ('BORIS') is a tool for linking national central registers containing information on the beneficial owners of companies and other legal entitie...
e-justice.europa.eu
November 25, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Luxembourg 🇱🇺 and Sweden 🇸🇪 have been added to the EU's Beneficial ownership registers interconnection system (BORIS) which competent authority and obliged entity users can use to search for beneficial ownership documents from across 14 EU member states
e-justice.europa.eu/topics/regis...
e-justice.europa.eu/topics/regis...
Reposted by Stephen Abbott Pugh
Rachel Reeves will use her budget to freeze fuel duty, cut energy bills and increase the minimum wage in an effort to reduce the cost of living and win over Labour MPs as she raises tens of billions of pounds worth of taxes
Rachel Reeves will freeze fuel duty to dodge ‘political suicide’
www.thetimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Rachel Reeves will use her budget to freeze fuel duty, cut energy bills and increase the minimum wage in an effort to reduce the cost of living and win over Labour MPs as she raises tens of billions of pounds worth of taxes
Google's new end-to-end speech-to-speech translation model "enables real-time translation in the original speaker's voice with only a 2-second delay" research.google/blog/real-ti...
Real-time speech-to-speech translation
research.google
November 25, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Google's new end-to-end speech-to-speech translation model "enables real-time translation in the original speaker's voice with only a 2-second delay" research.google/blog/real-ti...
Trump administration has used more than $10bn to snap up ownership shares of private companies through U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, Defense Department/Office of Strategic Capital, Energy Department and Commerce Department - @nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
$10 Billion and Counting: Trump Administration Snaps Up Stakes in Private Firms
www.nytimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Trump administration has used more than $10bn to snap up ownership shares of private companies through U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, Defense Department/Office of Strategic Capital, Energy Department and Commerce Department - @nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
Reposted by Stephen Abbott Pugh
I'm quoted in the latest @laurenloricchio.bsky.social + @chandrawallace.bsky.social @taxnotes.com investigation of the "offshore" life insurance industry, which found a Russian oligarch with a $430 million policy. Article here: www.taxnotes.com/tax-notes-to...
November 24, 2025 at 11:04 PM
I'm quoted in the latest @laurenloricchio.bsky.social + @chandrawallace.bsky.social @taxnotes.com investigation of the "offshore" life insurance industry, which found a Russian oligarch with a $430 million policy. Article here: www.taxnotes.com/tax-notes-to...
Reposted by Stephen Abbott Pugh
What AI creates depends on what humans have already documented, verified, and made available to everyone.
That’s why @wikipedia.org’s role as the backbone of all knowledge on the internet has never been more important. #Wikipedia25
Learn more ➡️ wikimediafoundation.org/wikipedia-va...
That’s why @wikipedia.org’s role as the backbone of all knowledge on the internet has never been more important. #Wikipedia25
Learn more ➡️ wikimediafoundation.org/wikipedia-va...
November 12, 2025 at 5:35 PM
What AI creates depends on what humans have already documented, verified, and made available to everyone.
That’s why @wikipedia.org’s role as the backbone of all knowledge on the internet has never been more important. #Wikipedia25
Learn more ➡️ wikimediafoundation.org/wikipedia-va...
That’s why @wikipedia.org’s role as the backbone of all knowledge on the internet has never been more important. #Wikipedia25
Learn more ➡️ wikimediafoundation.org/wikipedia-va...
Standardising UBO data to store trustworthy, high-quality beneficial ownership information in business wallets stephenabbottpugh.medium.com/standardisin...
#beneficialownership #openstandards #UBO #KYC #KYB #EBW #digitaleu #wallet
#beneficialownership #openstandards #UBO #KYC #KYB #EBW #digitaleu #wallet
Standardising UBO data to store trustworthy, high-quality beneficial ownership information in…
There’s a lot of paperwork to do when you are setting up a business, from registering for a corporate ID number to creating up a bank…
stephenabbottpugh.medium.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Standardising UBO data to store trustworthy, high-quality beneficial ownership information in business wallets stephenabbottpugh.medium.com/standardisin...
#beneficialownership #openstandards #UBO #KYC #KYB #EBW #digitaleu #wallet
#beneficialownership #openstandards #UBO #KYC #KYB #EBW #digitaleu #wallet
Reposted by Stephen Abbott Pugh
Money launderers, fraudsters, tax dodgers and sanctions evaders have all used Britain's own Overseas Territories to hide and stash their dirty cash.
Our reputation as a clean and fair place to do business has been dragged through the mud. It is time to throw open the books.
Our reputation as a clean and fair place to do business has been dragged through the mud. It is time to throw open the books.
🆕 The APPG has coordinated a letter to the Government signed by 18 cross party MPs calling for an end to “embarrassing and costly” offshore financial secrecy, as covered by Politico 👇
November 25, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Money launderers, fraudsters, tax dodgers and sanctions evaders have all used Britain's own Overseas Territories to hide and stash their dirty cash.
Our reputation as a clean and fair place to do business has been dragged through the mud. It is time to throw open the books.
Our reputation as a clean and fair place to do business has been dragged through the mud. It is time to throw open the books.
Reposted by Stephen Abbott Pugh
Billionaire Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, pardoned by Donald Trump, has been accused of facilitating millions of dollars’ worth of payments to Hamas in the wake of its attack on Israel on October 7 2023. Zhao also financed the Trump family's entrance into the cryptocurrency market.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao accused of facilitating payments to Hamas
Crypto tycoon pardoned by Donald Trump faces US court complaint from families of victims of October 7 attack
www.ft.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:06 AM
Billionaire Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, pardoned by Donald Trump, has been accused of facilitating millions of dollars’ worth of payments to Hamas in the wake of its attack on Israel on October 7 2023. Zhao also financed the Trump family's entrance into the cryptocurrency market.
Reposted by Stephen Abbott Pugh
🆕 The APPG has coordinated a letter to the Government signed by 18 cross party MPs calling for an end to “embarrassing and costly” offshore financial secrecy, as covered by Politico 👇
November 25, 2025 at 10:40 AM
🆕 The APPG has coordinated a letter to the Government signed by 18 cross party MPs calling for an end to “embarrassing and costly” offshore financial secrecy, as covered by Politico 👇
Reposted by Stephen Abbott Pugh
Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.
The Economic Impact of Brexit
Other
siepr.stanford.edu
November 24, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.
Reposted by Stephen Abbott Pugh
Illuminating the shadow fleet: Data fusion in action.
An investigation by Matt Nippert in the NZ Herald shows the complexity of the global shadow fleet. Our own @maritimekiwi.bsky.social supported this inquiry, turning vast maritime data into clear evidence.
www.nzherald.co.nz/business/com...
An investigation by Matt Nippert in the NZ Herald shows the complexity of the global shadow fleet. Our own @maritimekiwi.bsky.social supported this inquiry, turning vast maritime data into clear evidence.
www.nzherald.co.nz/business/com...
Cook Islands flag tangled in Russia’s shadow fleet scandal
SPECIAL INVESTIGATION: How shadow fleets made the Cook Islands flag inconvienent.
www.nzherald.co.nz
November 24, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Illuminating the shadow fleet: Data fusion in action.
An investigation by Matt Nippert in the NZ Herald shows the complexity of the global shadow fleet. Our own @maritimekiwi.bsky.social supported this inquiry, turning vast maritime data into clear evidence.
www.nzherald.co.nz/business/com...
An investigation by Matt Nippert in the NZ Herald shows the complexity of the global shadow fleet. Our own @maritimekiwi.bsky.social supported this inquiry, turning vast maritime data into clear evidence.
www.nzherald.co.nz/business/com...
Reposted by Stephen Abbott Pugh
A state cannot function if its politicians are for sale. That principle is foundational to any serious democracy.
Nathan Gill has been sentenced to 10+ years in prison for taking around £40,000 from a Kremlin proxy to promote pro-Russian lines 👇
observer.co.uk/news/politic...
Nathan Gill has been sentenced to 10+ years in prison for taking around £40,000 from a Kremlin proxy to promote pro-Russian lines 👇
observer.co.uk/news/politic...
More MEPs investigated in Russian bribe probe | The Observer
observer.co.uk
November 24, 2025 at 4:02 PM
A state cannot function if its politicians are for sale. That principle is foundational to any serious democracy.
Nathan Gill has been sentenced to 10+ years in prison for taking around £40,000 from a Kremlin proxy to promote pro-Russian lines 👇
observer.co.uk/news/politic...
Nathan Gill has been sentenced to 10+ years in prison for taking around £40,000 from a Kremlin proxy to promote pro-Russian lines 👇
observer.co.uk/news/politic...
Apply to join the Transparency International EU (@transparency-eu.bsky.social) team as an Illicit Financial Flows Policy trainee, monitoring anti-corruption and anti-money laundering developments and trends at EU level.
Applications due by 7 December 2025
transparency.eu/illicit-fina...
Applications due by 7 December 2025
transparency.eu/illicit-fina...
Illicit Financial Flows Policy - Traineeship - Transparency International EU
Transparency International EU (TI EU) is an international non-profit association under Belgian law (AISBL) based in Brussels (Belgium). We work closely with Transparency International national chapter...
transparency.eu
November 24, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Apply to join the Transparency International EU (@transparency-eu.bsky.social) team as an Illicit Financial Flows Policy trainee, monitoring anti-corruption and anti-money laundering developments and trends at EU level.
Applications due by 7 December 2025
transparency.eu/illicit-fina...
Applications due by 7 December 2025
transparency.eu/illicit-fina...
Reposted by Stephen Abbott Pugh
🔍 How usable is Norway’s new #BeneficialOwnership (BO) register?
After Norway launched its BO register in 2024, Tax Justice Norway obtained API access, and Open Ownership helped assess how well the system works in practice.
Here’s what we found:
After Norway launched its BO register in 2024, Tax Justice Norway obtained API access, and Open Ownership helped assess how well the system works in practice.
Here’s what we found:
November 24, 2025 at 3:20 PM
🔍 How usable is Norway’s new #BeneficialOwnership (BO) register?
After Norway launched its BO register in 2024, Tax Justice Norway obtained API access, and Open Ownership helped assess how well the system works in practice.
Here’s what we found:
After Norway launched its BO register in 2024, Tax Justice Norway obtained API access, and Open Ownership helped assess how well the system works in practice.
Here’s what we found:
Data analysis: @openownership.bsky.social has conducted an assessment of the usability of Norway's beneficial ownership register in partnership with Tax Justice Norway
openownership.org/en/blog/a-br...
#beneficialownership #legitimateinterest #UBO
openownership.org/en/blog/a-br...
#beneficialownership #legitimateinterest #UBO
November 24, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Data analysis: @openownership.bsky.social has conducted an assessment of the usability of Norway's beneficial ownership register in partnership with Tax Justice Norway
openownership.org/en/blog/a-br...
#beneficialownership #legitimateinterest #UBO
openownership.org/en/blog/a-br...
#beneficialownership #legitimateinterest #UBO
Kuwait's Ministry of Commerce and Industry says it has removed 73,700 inactive companies as part of a drive to improve beneficial ownership transparency efforts in the country
timeskuwait.com/mci-removes-...
timeskuwait.com/mci-removes-...
MCI removes 73,700 inactive firms, achieves 98% compliance on beneficial owners - Times Kuwait
The first phase covered 73,712 inactive companies, each incurring a fine of KD 1,000, totaling KD 2.845 million. The second phase targeted 1,836 additional entities, fined KD 2,000 each, adding KD 3.6...
timeskuwait.com
November 24, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Kuwait's Ministry of Commerce and Industry says it has removed 73,700 inactive companies as part of a drive to improve beneficial ownership transparency efforts in the country
timeskuwait.com/mci-removes-...
timeskuwait.com/mci-removes-...
Reposted by Stephen Abbott Pugh
In case you missed it: our investigation into how Sky Bet relocated to Malta to avoid £55m of tax/year This kind of thing is often reported as "perfectly proper, and there's no suggestion that any laws were broken".
But here it looks improper. Laws may have been broken.
🧵
But here it looks improper. Laws may have been broken.
🧵
November 23, 2025 at 9:34 AM
In case you missed it: our investigation into how Sky Bet relocated to Malta to avoid £55m of tax/year This kind of thing is often reported as "perfectly proper, and there's no suggestion that any laws were broken".
But here it looks improper. Laws may have been broken.
🧵
But here it looks improper. Laws may have been broken.
🧵
Reposted by Stephen Abbott Pugh
Will King Charles go through the UK’s new ID verification process during the next year? And will that mean it’ll be easier to see any companies he owns or controls via Companies House? 🆔 ✅ 🧵
find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/0271...
find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/0271...
November 23, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Will King Charles go through the UK’s new ID verification process during the next year? And will that mean it’ll be easier to see any companies he owns or controls via Companies House? 🆔 ✅ 🧵
find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/0271...
find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/0271...
Reposted by Stephen Abbott Pugh
NEW: A billionaire-backed global cooling startup is a few years away from potentially seeding the stratosphere with sunlight-reflecting particles.
This is the inside story of how Stardust is developing planet-altering tech that it hopes to sell to the US government. www.politico.com/news/magazin...
This is the inside story of how Stardust is developing planet-altering tech that it hopes to sell to the US government. www.politico.com/news/magazin...
The Strange and Totally Real Plan to Blot Out the Sun and Reverse Global Warming
A 25-person startup is developing technology to block the sun and turn down the planet’s thermostat. The stakes are huge — and the company and its critics say regulations need to catch up.
www.politico.com
November 21, 2025 at 7:05 PM
NEW: A billionaire-backed global cooling startup is a few years away from potentially seeding the stratosphere with sunlight-reflecting particles.
This is the inside story of how Stardust is developing planet-altering tech that it hopes to sell to the US government. www.politico.com/news/magazin...
This is the inside story of how Stardust is developing planet-altering tech that it hopes to sell to the US government. www.politico.com/news/magazin...
Reposted by Stephen Abbott Pugh
For the last few months, we've been talking to current and former employees of OpenAI to understand what went wrong with ChatGPT this year and how the company is fixing it. Here's the story: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/t...
What OpenAI Did When ChatGPT Users Lost Touch With Reality
www.nytimes.com
November 23, 2025 at 5:54 PM
For the last few months, we've been talking to current and former employees of OpenAI to understand what went wrong with ChatGPT this year and how the company is fixing it. Here's the story: www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/t...