Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-06-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress he has made since the Anti-Corruption Summit of 12 May 2016 on implementing the Government’s plan to establish central registers of beneficial ownership in the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.

James Duddridge

Agreement has been reached with all the relevant Overseas Territories, and with the Isle of Man and Jersey on the establishment of central registers or similarly effective systems. These arrangements will give UK law enforcement and tax authorities quick and unrestricted access to beneficial ownership information on corporate and legal entities incorporated in these Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. This is a significant step forward in our ability to fight criminal activity. The signing of a similar arrangement with Guernsey is expected shortly, following their recent general election and formation of a new government.

Requests from UK law enforcement will be processed within 24 hours and quicker in urgent cases. The new arrangements must be in place by June 2017, but relevant Government Departments and law enforcement authorities are working with the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies to ensure some changes are made immediately.