MPs push UK government on transparency in BOTs
Dame Margaret Hodge (left) and Financial Services Minister Tara Rivers
(CNS): A cross-party group of the UK Parliament members led by a Conservative MP believe they are on track to defeat the government in a debate next month about transparency in the offshore global industry. Backbench Tory MP Andrew Mitchell believes the cross-party alliance will defeat Theresa May’s government in a Commons vote next week on the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill, forcing the government to change the new bill to compel the British Territories seen as tax havens to have open beneficial-owner registers. The law is designed to address the flow of money by Russian oligarchs with links to Vladimir Putin.
Mitchell is working with Labour transparency campaigner Dame Margaret Hodge, one of the members that Financial Services Minister Tara Rivers met during the European charm offensive last November when she and Premier Alden McLaughlin sought to persuade UK politicians that Cayman meets international standards and is not involved in money laundering.
In a press release at the time, Rivers said that Hodge is a well-known critic of territories that have financial services business but “took the opportunity to discuss concerns that the MP has and sought to assist her in better understanding the work done in Cayman”, and its cooperation in regard to tax matters and the benefit to the UK and the world.
“I enjoyed meeting Dame Hodge; and although we expressed our differences of opinion with regards to the financial services business conducted in Cayman, I took the opportunity to strongly present our case based on facts, and I appreciated her willingness to listen,” said Rivers.
Despite Rivers’ efforts, Hodge has complained about what she has said is the “ever increasing” levels of money laundering happening in British Overseas Territories which include the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands and Bermuda, and she has pressed ahead with her call for an open register of owners.
The proposed amendments being put forward by Hodge and Mitchell, which are supported by enough MPs to defeat the government, would force the territories to introduce a register revealing the beneficial owners of assets. The driving force for the legislation and the added amendment is the recent concerns about Russian money flowing through offshore jurisdictions and back onshore again, funding that country’s attacks on democracies around the world and the recent poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in England.
According to reports in the UK media, the amendment would require the British government to help overseas territories set up public registers for their jurisdictions and, by 31 December 2020, prepare an Order in Council forcing them to do it if they have not complied.
The UK government is said to be looking at the amendment and trying to find a compromise after one minister allegedly told the Financial Times that, as it stands, adopting the change to the bill would “sour things very badly” with overseas territories.
The CIG has tried very hard to prevent this and the governor recently repeated what has been the UK government’s position to date, that Cayman will not be forced to introduce such transparency unless and until it becomes the global norm.
Category: Business, Financial Services
Yes. Over 95% employed.
I see Amber Rudd got her come upings for lying to parliament after civil servants lied to her its a pity we here in this so British OT cannot have the seem outcomes for our civil servants and chief officers who blatantly and willfully tell lies and deceive both MLA,s and the public, yet we claim to be under the Westminster system. Well what can we expect when we have a joke for a premier and looser for a speaker and opposition wid no balls!
Those oligarchs own most of broke ass London you notice two things the money flow thru offshore is a real problem especially since it ain’t them controlling the flow or receiving it and only the oligarchs link to Putin are bad not the ones helping them interfere in Russian politics and her economic resurgence same thing these hypocritical bastards are accusing Russians of doing to them. What’ a real shame eh when colonialists get colonized its call real justice and we should not get involved because it will not benefit us in any shape or form this the very same policy they adopted themselves and has cost many lives in many places where they pillaged and raped for their own benefit
Ow. You pore grammer is an insult to mi eys.
Yes 12:19pm it also happens when liars get a small glimpse of the truth and a stomachache when they have to eat it!
Professionals offshore will be aware that Russians use Cyprus and Georgia and avoid the already too-cooperative (for them) BOTs. Pulling down our trousers won’t expose the Russian proxy owned London real estate – which was the whole point of this exercise. What then?
Politics is a despicable career followed by those who are willing to sell their souls for short-term temporal gain.
God created time and when He is good and ready, He will call it a day.
Then He will judge us all in righteousness.
Everyone needs to wake up.
God does not care about your fancy title, your degree, your political standing or any other worthless honour this world has bestowed upon you.
Government is the biggest scam in the history of humanity.
Soon everything will be crystal clear.
Love to see just how well off your average Caymanian will be if CIG were to lose Exempted company and associated income. That’s a whole lot of rum cakes your gonna have to sell.
Not much worse. Have you seen local unemployment rates lately?
There is no local unemployment. Once one discounts the drunks, junkies, criminals and those that feel themselves too important to take the many many jobs that are available.
>$110 million a year in annual recurring Exempt-co CIG revenue hangs in the balance and Tara, aware of this, tells the finance industry to hustle more to dispel the myths she has been tasked with countering as the Financial Services Minister.
Fills me with dread to think that we have Tara Rivers representing us – why do we have such an unaccomplished Politian filling this vital role?
“Ever-escalating money laundering” based on what evidence exactly? If this easily-countered “because I said so” schoolyard logic is allowed to prevail by vote, Tara must resign.
Margaret Hodge you say….
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/businesslatestnews/9668396/Margaret-Hodges-family-company-pays-just-0.01pc-tax-on-2.1bn-of-business-generated-in-the-UK.html
Oh what a delicious article!
Translation: We are now a broke, has-been leading nation, therefore we must dusrupt the Russians as they (allegedly) attempt to do precisely as we have for the last 100 years.
– Whodatis
So Who is a Putinbot. Starts to make sense.
Britbot or Putinbot – simply 2 of the same.
Wake up.
– Who
Sucks to be part of he Empire, eh?
Caliphate.
And yes, it certainly does.
– Who
Entertaining as always.
It will be interesting to see how the Premier “ spins “ this. He probably knew it was coming, but hoped there would not be enough cross-party support for the amendment to be passed.
I am not sure he did. The weakness of the May regime has been made clear in the last 10 days that she is heading for a defeat on the customs union vote and her inability to do anything about it. This proposal comes out of that new reality.
Brexit reverse me hopes
Brexit Reverse will take 10 years at least, 10 long lost years of economic pain. Then the UK will re-enter on much much poorer terms than it had before Brexit.
Give her one condo down by the Ritz i bet you she hush wid her foolishness you wont here another peep out of dem?
Interesting, so Dame Hodge is willing to make all her private holdings and interests become public. Please show and tell so that the media can feast some more.
A good move. Tax havens like the Caymans are an embarrassment to the UK.
Before you come on here and spew this bullshit about Cayman being a tax haven, educate yourself on how our financial services industry operates.
Darling, the BS is the spin that parasitic secrecy tinpot jurisdictions put up as a facade to justify the services they provide to the rich and corrupt to hide their ill-gotten gains and dodge taxes.
There’s no secrecy in Cayman you dim wit. Information exchange agreements with everyone. ‘Darling’.
Only at a government level – when it is access by the private sector and journalists that makes real difference to fighting abuse by the rich and the corrupt.
How do you explain this article?
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-12-28/the-u-s-is-becoming-the-world-s-new-tax-haven
You obviously have never worked in Caymans financial centre. If you had, you would know our regulators are amongst the toughest on the planet, and opening a bank account? Only if you are prepared to give up your first born child..
“….our regulators are amongst the toughest on the planet” LOL!!!
It is because of my experience that I can say these things, and they are true.
We try really hard to police our corner of the finance world and we do a damn good job relatively speaking. As long as there are crooks with bad intentions there will be problems but we are proud of our record and work hard to improve it everyday. If you want something to be embarrassed about I suggest you start with the London property market which is a magnet for dirty money from all over the world which you have done nothing to address. Whatever may get by us here is a drop in the bucket compared to the money laundering and facilitation of corruption that you drive by everyday in London.
Your lawyer road shows in the US still sell tax avoidance, anonymity (tho ithat needs more than just Cayman), and real estate deals. What else can they offer?
Everyone knows these places help the rich park capital to dodge taxes and let the corrupt funnel money. Public registers are necessary to expose the great harm caused by places like the Caymans to billions around the world as they pander to they wealthy greedy few.
Here’s a great idea. You publish a public register of all your countrymen that we should not do business with. I’m sure that will make you super popular you dim wit.
Yes, that is what corrupt governments do, publish details of all the business dealings of their families, so they can get caught. No, they use secrecy jurisdictions to get away with their abusive behavior.
‘Everyone’? Really? Isn’t the largest tax haven in the US?
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-12-28/the-u-s-is-becoming-the-world-s-new-tax-haven
You’re clearly not informed enough to discuss this topic.
Russians hold billions more assets on BOTs than the UK.
Which public register are you getting that information from? Or is this just pure conjecture and a wild guesstimate? Please enlighten us with your wisdom (or lack thereof).
The Times reported the figures this week – about £30bn in UK assets. £35bn in BOTs.
Correction: “Tax havens” like “the Caymans” are / were the lifeblood of the British economy… or whatever is left of it.
You speak out of idealistic ignorance – not the first, wont be the last.
– Who
*Personally, I don’t really care either way.
As of late, the more “successful” our banking industry becomes the worst off is the average Cayman.
‘The Caymans’? You watch too much fictional TV troll.
The Caymans is a perfectly accurate term.
In lazily researched movies maybe.
Actually the UK is an embarrassment to the BOTs