(CB):
69G: After Clause 41, insert the following new Clause—
“Public registers of beneficial ownership of companies in the
British overseas territories
(1) For the purpose of preventing money-laundering, the Secretary
of State must provide all reasonable assistance to the
governments of—(a) Anguilla;(b) Bermuda;(c) the British Virgin
Islands;(d) the Cayman Islands;(e) Montserrat; and(f) the Turks
and Caicos Islands,to enable each of those governments to
establish a publicly accessible register of the beneficial
ownership of companies registered in that government’s
jurisdiction.(2) No later than 1 January 2019 the Secretary of
State must prepare an Order in Council, and take all reasonable
steps to ensure its implementation, in respect of any British
overseas territories listed in subsection (1) that have not by
that date introduced a publicly accessible register of the
beneficial ownership of companies within their jurisdiction,
requiring them to adopt such a register.(3) In this section a
“publicly accessible register of beneficial ownership of
companies” means a register which, in the opinion of the
Secretary of State, provides information broadly equivalent to
that available in accordance with the provisions of Part 21A of
the Companies Act 2006 (information about people with significant
control).”
My Lords, I rise to speak to Amendment 69G in my name and those
of the noble Baroness, Lady Kramer, and the noble Lords, Lord
Collins and Lord Kirkhope, who regrets very much that he cannot
be here. The amendment continues the debates that began in what
is now the Criminal Finances Act 2017. It reflects the widespread
and continuing concern about how the lack of transparency in the
offshore financial centres of the British Overseas
Territories—that is, Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin
Islands, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat and the Turks and
Caicos—enables the corrupt and criminal to find a haven for their
ill-gotten wealth...
...The Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council met last
week. We are truly fortunate that the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, is,
among his many other responsibilities, the Minister for the
Overseas Territories. Following the meeting of the Joint
Ministerial Council, can the noble Lord when he replies—if he
intends to reply on this occasion—tell the Committee exactly what
progress has been made in the British Overseas Territories with
preparing registers and in sharing information? Do all the
British Overseas Territories have accessible registers covering
all the companies in their jurisdiction? On how many occasions
have British law enforcement agencies sought access to the
registers and have these arrangements for access proved
satisfactory? Can the Minister confirm that a progress report is
due in January 2018 and also explain how the progress report will
be compiled and how it will be published? In answering these
questions, it is clear that the Minister will have to take into
account the huge damage caused by the recent severe hurricanes on
the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla and the Turks
and Caicos...
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth
Office (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon) (Con):...We are also
providing support to the Government of Anguilla to establish an
electronic search platform providing access to beneficial
ownership information, as well as support in drafting
underpinning legislation. We are now working with Anguilla to
finalise a memorandum of understanding on the terms for provision
of our support, and we expect its beneficial ownership system to
be established in the spring of 2018, notwithstanding the current
rebuilding challenges it is facing following the hurricane. Work
on establishing a central register in the Turks and Caicos Islands has been
delayed owing to the impact of Hurricane Irma, but we expect this
to be in place soon...
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