By Steve Goodrich
Since the Panama Paper leaks in 2016, offshore finance has come under mounting international scrutiny. The revelations exposed how shell companies, trusts and complex corporate structures are used to conceal corruption, launder money, and avoid taxes away from public view.
The UK plays a central role in this global system. Through the City of London and its extensive network of Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, Britain has been accused of sitting at the heart of a sprawling financial network that enables a shadow economy.
This system is estimated to cost governments around the world billions in lost tax revenue each year. According to the Tax Justice Network, the UK and its offshore financial centres are responsible for £125 billion ($169 billion) in global tax losses annually.[1] Their contribution to global corruption, organised criminality and state-backed threats is also substantial.
There is growing recognition that the secrecy afforded by the UK’s offshore financial centres contributes to these global harms. Successive UK Governments have sought to work with these jurisdictions to address this problem, and empower them to open their corporate registers to greater scrutiny.
At the November 2024 Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in London, Overseas Territories who have yet to make this information publicly accessible committed to:
‘…implement Legitimate Interest Access Registers of Beneficial Ownership (LIARBOs) with the maximum possible degree of access and transparency, whilst containing the necessary safeguards to protect the right to privacy in line with respective constitutions’.
The Transparency International UK report Unlocking Ownership Data provides a comprehensive legislative blueprint for how they can deliver on this pledge and work towards publicly accessible registers of beneficial ownership (PARBOs), like the UK’s.
Given the Crown Dependencies have made similar commitments, this report is also of relevance to them. It is divided into three main sections:
- Policy context: A short history of the UK’s offshore financial centres and the context for their commitments to greater corporate transparency.
- Methodology: How Transparency International UK developed guidelines for beneficial ownership transparency.
- Guidelines: Transparency International UK’s legislative blueprint for delivering effective access to beneficial ownership registers.
Read the report: Unlocking Ownership Data
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About the author
Steve Goodrich leads Transparency International UK’s research and investigations team, which provides the evidence and policy thinking behind their advocacy. His brief covers both domestic corruption and the UK’s contribution towards corruption globally, with a specialism in political campaign finance.