Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the annual budget was for Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) for each of the last three years; and how many financial investigators are employed to work in OFSI for financial year 2021-22.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The staff in post in OFSI was 37.8 FTE as at 31 March 2021. This information can be found in HM Treasury’s Outcome Delivery Plan 2021 to 2022, available at:
Releasing further details of OFSI’s budget and headcount by function could prejudice its operational effectiveness.
Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many referrals of suspected criminal sanctions breaches the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation has referred to the National Crime Agency in each of the last three years.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
HM Treasury assesses all potential breaches of financial sanctions, and takes appropriate action which can include issuing a monetary penalty or referring the matter to law enforcement agencies. Further information about our enforcement action is published on our website and in our Annual Review, available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/office-of-financial-sanctions-implementation
We cannot publicise information about our work with law enforcement specifically as it could prejudice ongoing investigations, however we can confirm that we refer all cases which may meet the threshold for criminal action.
Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many assets have been frozen in the UK as a result of financial sanctions against designated people and entities under the Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions Regulations 2021 since the regime was introduced in April 2021.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Since the launch of the Global Anti-Corruption financial sanctions regime in April 2021, an asset freeze has been imposed against 27 individuals. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) undertakes an annual review of frozen assets in the UK, requiring all persons or institutions that hold or control frozen assets in the UK to report to OFSI. That review has not yet commenced for 2021 but will commence shortly and details of frozen assets reported will be published in OFSI’s 2021-2022 Annual Review next year.Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish guidance on the process by which commissioners of the new Trust Registration Service will allow (a) investigative journalists and (b) non-governmental organisations access to that register in line with the purpose of the fifth anti-money laundering directive.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The government is currently in the process of developing guidance on the expanded version of the Trust Registration Service (TRS). This guidance will cover the circumstances and process which will apply to those seeking access to the register.
HMRC will publish the detailed guidance in advance of the relevant provisions coming into effect.
Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many HMRC staff will be deployed to examining irregularities in listings on the new Trust Registration Service.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The government recognises the need for effective and proportionate measures to ensure that information held on the Trust Registration Service (TRS) is correct and up to date. We are currently working to determine the precise resources required to monitor listings on the expanded TRS once it is operational.
Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of UK properties are held in trusts that will be registered through the new Trust Registration Service.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Information on the proportion of properties in the UK that are owned via trusts is not held at present. Property in the UK is held by a variety of different structures, including trusts.
There are various reasons that a trust may be required to register on the forthcoming expansion to the Trust Registration Service. Any of the trusts that meet these requirements may hold UK property. Additionally, non-UK trusts that acquire UK land going forward will be required to register.
Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an estimate of the potential revenue to the Exchequer from the portfolio of civil and criminal investigations resulting from the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers investigations.
Answered by Jesse Norman
To date, the work of HMRC in response to the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers has protected over £188.2 million in revenue, and from the current portfolio of civil and criminal investigations it is estimated that a further £12.6million will be protected.
This is broadly consistent with the HMRC 2018-19 annual report publication, where it was stated that cases linked to the Panama Papers are forecast to produce more than £190 million in yield.
Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the new Trust Registration Service will be operational.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The government is currently expanding the Trust Registration Service to implement changes required by the Fifth Money Laundering Directive. Work on the expanded version is well underway, and HMRC will make it available to customers as soon as possible. In the meantime, the Trust Registration Service remains operational for all trusts required to register for tax purposes.
Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government plans take to ensure that its free ports policy mitigates the risk of money laundering.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The government will ensure all the necessary safeguards are in place to minimise any risk of money laundering and tax evasion and will continue to meet international standards. We have consulted widely on the introduction of our new Freeport model and are carefully considering responses. Our consultation response will set out more detail on the policy in due course.Asked by: Margaret Hodge (Labour - Barking)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he will take in cases where a person has successfully claimed through the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme but then does not continue to trade after their grant has been awarded.
Answered by Jesse Norman
HMRC published for technical consultation draft legislation on the taxation of coronavirus support payments on Friday 29 May 2020. The technical consultation will run for a period of two weeks, closing on 12 June 2020.
The provisions provide HMRC with compliance and enforcement powers in relation to the schemes administered by HMRC. These include powers to check and recover any amount of a grant payment that the recipient is not entitled to. In cases where HMRC can demonstrate there has been deliberate non-compliance they will have the power to issue a penalty.
The technical consultation can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/draft-legislation-taxation-of-coronavirus-covid-19-support-payments.