Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential risk that listed companies, including those that are Chinese or Russian controlled, may use incorporation in the British Overseas Territories to pay less than market value to other shareholders when taking the business private.

The Overseas Territories are self-governing jurisdictions with their own democratically elected governments, who are responsible for their own financial services policy. The Overseas Territories cooperate with the UK on taxation, fighting financial crime and are implementing sanctions targeted at Russia. They are committed to meeting international standards on illicit finance, tax transparency and anti-money laundering; including those set by the OECD, the Financial Action Task Force and regional standards set by the EU. The FCDO has not made an assessment of these risks; the regulation of the financial services industries in the Overseas Territories are a matter for their elected governments.