record is kept of who owns bearer instruments or of transactions involving transfer of ownership, enabling the owner, as well as a purchaser, to deal with the property anonymously. Whoever physically holds the bearer document is assumed to be the owner of the property, and the rights arising therefrom, such as dividends.

Bearer instruments are used especially by investors and corporate officers who wish to retain anonymity. The OECD in a 2003 report concluded that the use