Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will ensure that any agreement on a central registry of beneficial ownership in the British Virgin Islands will include access for the public with legitimate reason, in line with the Fourth EU Anti Money Laundering Directive.

I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the answer the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, my hon. Friend, the Member for South West Hertfordshire (David Gauke MP), gave on 16 October 2015 (PQ10437, PQ10438 and PQ10448), which sets out the criteria we expect the Overseas Territories to meet in relation to their central register of company beneficial ownership, or similarly effective system.