Transparency International UK warns that the UK Government’s crackdown on dirty money risks being undermined by weak progress towards corporate transparency among the British Overseas Territories.

Between 19-21 November 2024, the UK Government met with leaders of the British Overseas Territories in London for their annual Joint Ministerial Council. The agenda included an item on the Territories’ progress towards delivering publicly accessible beneficial ownership registers - a key tool for combating corruption and money laundering.

On Saturday 23 November, the UK Government and the British Overseas Territories published a joint communiqué on the outcome of the talks. While the communiqué notes the UK Government’s continued expectation that the Overseas Territories provide the public with access to information about companies incorporated in their jurisdictions, major financial hubs within the Territories - such as the British Virgin Islands - have rejected this approach.

The Territories’ timeline for delivering corporate registers - either publicly, or by demonstrating ‘legitimate interest’ - has also slipped from the end of this year to mid-2025.

This suggests the UK Government is in a stand-off with its Overseas Territories over whether corporate registries should be publicly available, and that it needs a clear plan of action for holding these jurisdictions to their word. See Notes to Editors for more details on the Territories’ previous commitments for delivery.

Commenting on the joint communiqué, Margot Mollat, Senior Policy Manager at Transparency International UK said:

“We warmly welcome the Foreign Secretary’s campaign to crack down on dirty money and his bold statement that ‘the golden age of money laundering is over’, but the reality within Britain’s Overseas Territories tells a different story. Despite repeated missed deadlines and failed promises, financial secrecy remains a major obstacle to tackle illicit finance. 

“To deliver on its stated ambition, the Government should establish clear transparency standards for British Overseas Territories. At the very least, these should be in line with EU practice, granting journalists, researchers, and academics who can demonstrate a 'legitimate interest' full access to registers. 

“We cannot afford to be in the same position a year from now—facing more dithering and delays or, worse, ineffective legitimate interest registers. The Foreign Secretary should take a firm stance and hold the Territories accountable for meeting these vital transparency goals."

Notes to editors

• Last week’s Joint Ministerial Council in London was the first since the 2024 general election.Joint Ministerial Councils have become a focal point in the fight against global financial crime since the UK Parliament mandated public registers of beneficial ownership through the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018.
• The scale of money in the UK property sector funnelled through Overseas Territories is just the tip of the iceberg. Our previous 2018 research, using evidence from 237 corruption cases from the last 30 years, found that shell companies registered in our Overseas Territories had been involved in large corruption cases, inflicting £250 billion of economic damage across 79 different countries.
• Despite repeated announcements by the new Labour Government to prioritise combating corruption and kleptocracy, secrecy in these financial sectors remains a major obstacle to delivery. Successive governments have insisted the Overseas Territories follow the UK’s approach to provide publicly accessible beneficial ownership registers (PARBOs), yet some Territories have missed several deadlines for delivery.
• Since a 2022 ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union, Bermuda, the BVI, Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands now only commit to giving access to those with a ‘legitimate interest’ in company beneficial ownership information.
• Successive UK administrations have tried to get these offshore financial centres to deliver open corporate registries, yet progress to date has been slow. Despite voluntary commitments made by the Overseas Territories, who agreed to bring forward public registers in 2023, only Gibraltar and Montserrat have delivered publicly accessible beneficial ownership registers to date.
• Ahead of the JMC, Stephen Doughty MP, minister for the OTs, set out his expectation  that ‘full public accessibility remains [the Government’s] expectation’ and that 'legitimate interest should be delivered to a clear timetable, as an interim step.’ He also said the Government ‘outlined a set of minimum requirements that the UK Government would expect to see in any 'legitimate interest' regime.’
• Over 40 MPs and civil society organisations have reiterated calls on Overseas Territories to introduce public registers.
• Saturday’s communiqué states the Falkland Islands and Saint Helena will launch public registers in April 2025.
• Anguilla has a legislative framework in place that would provide some public access to information on its register, but this allows the Registrar to tip-off that they are being investigated. Previously, it had aspired to having an operational register by the end of 2024.
• Bermuda is consulting on its proposed approach to providing legitimate interest access to beneficial ownership information, with responses due before 8 January 2025. Previously, it had committed to delivering a public register within 12 months of the publication of the implementation review of the EU’s Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive.
• The British Virgin Islands (BVI), which has the largest company register in the Overseas Territories, has been particularly reluctant to end corporate secrecy. Our research found that 90 per cent of companies from the Overseas Territories involved in corruption and money laundering were incorporated in the BVI. Previously, it proposed to give some access to limited information on its register, with the legislative framework in place no later than Q2 2025.
• In November 2024, the Cayman Islands consulted on its proposed approach to giving legitimate interest access to its registers. Transparency International UK submitted evidence to this consultation in November 2024. Previously, the Cayman Islands had committed to delivering its register with a ‘legitimate interest’ filter no later than Q4 2024.
• In March 2024, the Turks and Caicos Islands consulted on its approach to providing legitimate interest access to its beneficial ownership register. Previously, it had committed to delivering this register by Q4 2024.