As illicit financial flows continue to thrive, the State is equipping itself with new tools to strengthen corporate transparency, improve tax collection, and combat money laundering.
A new control instrument. Yesterday, at the Novotel Alarobia, the Directorate General of Taxes (DGI) launched the Central Register of Beneficial Owners (RCBE), a platform designed to identify the natural persons who effectively control companies registered in Madagascar.
Presented as a key tool for economic governance, the mechanism aims to strengthen the traceability of legal structures and limit the use of shell companies. The beneficial owners of companies will now be recorded in a database accessible to certain public administrations.
For Prime Minister Mamitiana Rajaonarison, this reform meets a double imperative: securing investments and combating opaque financial circuits.
“The goal is to promote transparency and secure investments. Some individuals with malicious intent hide mechanisms for transferring illicit funds or monopoly situations in certain sectors behind their beneficial ownership. We must fight this to prevent state capture,” he declared.
The head of government also warned against the use of certain companies as vehicles for money laundering.
“Sometimes, companies serve as transfer channels for opaque funds intended to destabilize the country. Drug traffickers launder their money via shell companies and enrich themselves at the expense of the Malagasy people. This harms the country’s attractiveness and reputation,” he added.
Fight against tax evasion
As the former Director General of the Financial Intelligence Unit (Samifin), Mamitiana Rajaonarison participated in the initial discussions that led to the creation of the register. The new tool should allow authorities to better identify the true owners of companies and more easily trace financial circuits.
The Director General of Taxes, Edmond Rafaralahy, sees this as an important step in the modernization of tax administration.
“Financial transparency is no longer an option, but an absolute necessity to combat fraud, tax evasion, and illicit financial flows. The RCBE ensures that the rules of the game are the same for everyone. A transparent economic environment is attractive to investors and international partners,” he stated.
Beyond the fight against illicit activities, authorities also hope to improve the country’s tax performance. The Minister of Finance, Herinjatovo Aimé Ramiarison, recalled that Madagascar’s tax pressure remains below the average observed in sub-Saharan Africa.
Captured & Published at: 2026-06-19 02:00:03 (Madagascar Local Time EAT)
Original Source: https://www.lexpress.mg/2026/06/transparence-larsenal-contre-les.html