British Overseas Territories

(asked on 18th July 2018) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any British Overseas Territory has made representations to them regarding new UK legislation; if so, which Territory; and on what subject.


Answered by
 Portrait
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This question was answered on 2nd August 2018

Some Overseas Territories with financial centres, namely Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands and Montserrat have expressed concern about new legislation on sanctions and anti-money laundering (the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act), which became law on 23 May 2018; in particular the requirement to establish a publicly accessible register of the beneficial ownership of companies registered in each government's jurisdiction.

Seperately, the aforementioned Territories and Gibraltar have made representations over the potential use of an Order in Council as specified in the Act, believing this to be constitutional overreach by the UK.

The Prime Minister held a conference call with leaders of affected Territories on 24 May to discuss the issue and a further discussion was held at the Joint Ministerial Council in June. Shortly after the passage of this legislation I visited Anguilla, the Cayman Islands and Montserrat, where I held discussions on this topic. Similarly, in late July I visited the British Virgin Islands and met with representatives of the financial services industry and government of BVI. The Government understands the strength of feeling on this issue and is committed to working collaboratively with affected Territories on implementation.

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