"It is a matter of common knowledge that in the case of private companies, it is not rare that the shares of the company are registered in the name of persons who are not traceable, do not have valid PAN or similar identification numbers, or remain unidentified," said Payal Agarwal of Vinod Kothari Consultants. "Historically, dematerialisation of shares is looked upon by the government as a means to curb black money."