Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Overseas Territories' registers of beneficial ownership accessible only to those with a legitimate interest (a) support transparency and (b) tackle illicit financial transactions.

At the Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in November 2024, the Falkland Islands and Saint Helena committed to join Montserrat and Gibraltar in implementing fully public registers by April 2025. Other OTs, including the British Virgin Islands, Cayman, Bermuda, Anguilla and Turks & Caicos Islands agreed to implement registers of beneficial ownership, accessible to those with a legitimate interest, by June 2025. Effective implementation will be an important step to improved financial transparency and part of our shared efforts to tackle illicit finance.

These Territories agreed that their registers would offer the maximum possible degree of access and transparency whilst containing the necessary safeguards to protect the right to privacy in line with respective constitutions. UK officials have since set out further clarifications on our requirements, ensuring access conditions do not unduly deter effective proactive investigations and analysis. UK officials are actively engaging with OT officials to ensure that they are met. I will also continue to raise this issue directly with elected leaders.

It remains our expectation that all OTs will ultimately implement registers that are fully accessible to the public.