The Business and Intellectual Property Authority of Namibia (BIPA) has issued a stern warning that a majority of registered entities face blacklisting due to non-compliance with the country’s beneficial ownership law.
Only 84,000 of Namibia’s 229,000 registered entities have submitted the required beneficial ownership information, leaving 145,000 at risk of severe sanctions.
The regulations are part of Namibia’s efforts to align with global standards and curb financial crimes, including money laundering and terrorism financing.
BIPA’s Executive for Marketing, Corporate Communication, and Client Management Services, Ockert Jansen, confirmed that the compliance rate remains low.
“From a total of 229-thousand entities registered with BIPA, only 84-thousand remain beneficial ownership compliant as at 19 February 2025. This is a 37% compliance rate,” Jansen he said.
Namibia’s grey-listing by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in February 2024 intensified pressure on the country to tighten its regulatory framework.
The amendment of the Companies and Close Corporations Act in July 2023 made it mandatory for businesses to disclose their beneficial owners, aiming to mitigate risks linked to financial misconduct.
Jansen reiterated that non-compliant entities will face strict penalties.
“Non-compliant entities will face sanctions, and the Registrar has the authority to impose substantial administrative penalties,” he stated.
Entities failing to comply have already been placed on an inactive list published on BIPA’s website. The next step, Jansen warned, is deregistration.
“[The] non-compliant entities can be sanctioned, and the Registrar [BIPA] may impose administrative penalties. Such non-compliant entities have also been placed on an inactive list, published on the BIPA website. The next step is for these entities to be deregistered if their non-compliance status persists,” he said.
On possible jobs loses arriving from the crackdown, especially given Namibia’s rising unemployment rate, which currently stands at 36.9%.
“I do not have the data to answer that question,” he said.
“However, it is crucial to recognize that many of these non-compliant entities may be dormant.”
BIPA has the authority to impose penalties of up to N$50,000 for non-compliance, with additional daily fines of N$1,000 for continued violations. While the authority temporarily suspended penalties in July 2024 to reassess its enforcement mechanisms,
Jansen confirmed that the review has concluded, and sanctions will soon be reinstated.
“This was to review its current sanction mechanisms. This process is completed and as such penalties will be re-introduced soon,” he said.
According to the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), filing of Beneficial Ownership Information with BIPA) is a key requirement for Namibia’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) greylist.
