Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2017 to Question 115638 on Anguilla: Companies, what the timetable is for Anguilla’s register of beneficial ownership to be published; and what support the Government is providing to assist Anguilla in publishing that register.

​As set out in my response to PQ 115638, we have committed to provide financial support to Anguilla to create an electronic search platform providing access to beneficial ownership information, as well as support in drafting underpinning legislation. The process for establishing a beneficial ownership system has been delayed by the impact of and need to recover from Hurricane Irma. The Government of Anguilla has now produced a draft beneficial ownership bill which is currently being revised to take into account stakeholder comments. We expect Anguilla's beneficial ownership platform to be in place by Autumn 2018. In the interim, Anguilla will continue to respond to any requests for information from UK law enforcement authorities.