A Downing Street spokesperson
said:
“Yesterday the Prime Minister and Lord Ahmad, Minister for the
Overseas Territories, held a conference call with leaders of the
Overseas Territories with financial centres to discuss company
ownership transparency and, in particular, the issue of public
registers of beneficial ownership.
“The Prime Minister spoke about the recent passage of the
Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act. She said that she
understood that the cross-Party amendment to this legislation
that would require the Overseas Territories to create public
registers was a matter of great concern for the leaders and that
she was conscious of the strong reactions the issue had provoked
in their territories.
“The Prime Minister added that the Government highly values the
relationship with the Overseas Territories and would continue to
work in a collaborative and pragmatic way on these issues and
others.
“The Prime Minister spoke of the Government’s efforts to promote
public registers of company beneficial ownership as the global
standard and reiterated that we would expect other major
financial centres, including the Crown Dependencies, to adopt
public registers at that point.
“She also welcomed the importance of the existing cooperation of
the Overseas Territories with UK law enforcement agencies and
emphasised the need for this to continue and develop.
“She invited the leaders on the call to share their positions and
opinions on the issue and made clear that the UK’s aim is to
secure the best possible outcome in a way that minimises any
possible risks to the economies of the Overseas Territories.
“The leaders looked forward to Lord Ahmad’s visit to the Cayman
Islands, Montserrat and Anguilla next week, and to the June Joint
Ministerial Council in London.”
