UK Parliament Debate On Registers In OTs
The British House of Commons is holding a ‘Debate on a Motion on the Implementation of Public Registers of Beneficial Ownership in the UK’s Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies’ and you can tune in and watch live below.
The UK legislation to have the OTs implement originally passed back in 2018; the matter had been discussed for some time, with the Bermuda Government having pointing out multiple times that the island has maintained a register of beneficial owners for over years, and provides the information at request.
In 2020, the Bermuda Government said, “The Government of Bermuda has established a comprehensive central register of beneficial ownership information which is presently held and maintained by the Bermuda Monetary Authority. This information is readily available to the relevant competent authorities. Law enforcement can also obtain beneficial ownership information from AML/ATF regulated institutions subject to the Proceeds of Crime framework and the Bermuda Monetary Authority, through production orders or other mechanisms.
“Bermuda is committed to leading by example by actively engaging with our international partners in respect of beneficial ownership and transparency. We will continue to work with international bodies (FATF, OECD, IOSCO, IAIS, G20 and others) and other jurisdictions in respect of standards relating to corporate transparency and information exchange mechanisms; and sharing information on Bermuda’s approach and experiences.
“Recognising the importance of the provision of beneficial ownership information for the prevention and detection of domestic and cross-border crime, and in anticipation of the implementation of a global standard which Bermuda has similarly committed to meet once adopted, and in keeping with Bermuda’s previous commitments, the Government of Bermuda intends to make the companies central register of beneficial ownership information accessible to the public.”
You can view all our coverage on the topic here, and the live stream replay below.
On this issue Bermuda is ahead of the U.K. and has been for decades.