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Written question asked by Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 3 July 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 7 July 2025. It was answered by Stephen Doughty (Labour) on Tuesday, 15 July 2025 on behalf of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

British Overseas Territories: Companies

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Sanctions and Anti‑Money Laundering Act 2018, what steps his Department will take to ensure British Overseas Territories implement public registers of beneficial ownership in a timely fashion; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of legitimate interest access to beneficial ownership registers on levels of transparency.

Answer

Please refer to my Written Ministerial Statement of 3 July which provides an update and details of next steps.

We have made very clear to our partners in the remaining Overseas Territories the importance of delivering on the previously committed to deadlines, and have offered technical support to achieve this. We have communicated that we expect rapid and robust action to be taken, given the crucial importance of tackling illicit finance and increasing transparency. We have set out that we expect access to be granted to a wide range of legitimate users, that registers should enable proactive investigations and should act as a deterrent to those seeking to conceal illicit gains.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials have conducted an in-house assessment of the latest policies and proposals from these Overseas Territories against the discussions at the Joint Ministerial Council in November 2024. In addition, we have reviewed feedback from a range of external stakeholders including expert NGOs and parliamentarians. We have also considered emerging international modalities which cover legitimate interest access registers.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
64844
Session
2024-26
Related items
Subjects
Companies British overseas territories Ownership Registration
Legislation
Sanctions and Anti-money Laundering Act 2018
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk