Crown Dependencies fight against BO registers
Isle of Man
(CNS): The leaders of Britain’s Crown Dependencies were in London Monday in an effort to stop any attempts by the UK government to impose public beneficial ownership registers on them as it has on the British Overseas Territories. Like the BOTs, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey are under threat of being blacklisted by the European Union when it reveals the list of what it regards as tax havens this month, but unlike like the territories, the Crown Dependencies dodged the imposition of registers through an amendment to the UK’s Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Law.
But that could change as another pending amendment to the Financial Services Bill could force those three jurisdictions to introduce the same registers that the Cayman Islands and other BOTs with offshore financial centers are facing, according to various reports in the British media.
The leaders of all three dependencies issued a joint statement at the weekend raising objections about the proposed change. They argued that they already have a “robust existing approach” to fighting secret company ownership, echoing the sentiment of Cayman Islands authorities.
“It is a respected constitutional position that the UK does not legislate for the Crown Dependencies on domestic matters without our consent,” the statement said, as they pushed against what was described by Gavin St Pier, President of the Policy and Resources Committee of Guernsey, in a tweet as “unwarranted and inoperative legislation”.
I am travelling to London this morning to meet with @John_Le_Fondre @Ian_Gorst and @HowardQuayleMHK to explain why Westminster should not attempt to pass unwarranted and inoperative legislation. @Govgg @IOMGovernment @GovJersey are indivisible, in lockstep, determined – and right
— Gavin St Pier (@gavinstpier) March 4, 2019
No 10 Downing Street said in a press statement that the “Crown Dependencies are separate jurisdictions with their own democratically elected governments. They are responsible for their own fiscal matters.” However, but there are expectations in the UK that parliament will pass the amendment when the postponed debate takes place.
“We consider the legislation to be wholly unnecessary in the context of our robust existing approach to the retention and sharing of beneficial ownership information. All Crown Dependencies are committed to the highest standards of financial services regulation and transparency,” the leaders said in their statement, points that have also been made by all of the BOTs.
“The standards applied by our jurisdictions exceed those of the United Kingdom, the registers in the Crown Dependencies contain information that is accurate and up to date,” the leaders added.
Category: Business, Financial Services
Our “white cousins” are sure kicking up a fuss!
LOL
Pathetic to play a race card.
Since its so “pathetic” can you explain the difference between a crown dependency and a British overseas territory ?
It is a function of constitutional history.
Well the difference is not based on race. If you think it might be then the proper answer would be too complicated for you.
Not a race card, numbnut.
Fact check:
they are our cousins
their respective majorities are white
not the same in the OTs.
Got it yet?
Nothing wrong with showing who is hiding his wealth from the poor.
Unfortunately the wealthy protect the wealthy.
What about those wealth family’s from poorer geographic locations e.g. Mexico and the Philippines where kidnapping is rife. Making the BO register publically available would certainly have life threatening implications on wealthy individuals if criminal are able to do a quick online search for residents.
Not a reason to protect rampant corruption around the world. Do you think the authorities in former Soviet states run but despots would use non public registers to expose corruption by the ruling elite? Look at how the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers exposed global political corruption because journalists had access to accurate information.
Accurate from 15 years ago in Panama. Police and int’l regulators already have full access to this info in the Cayman Islands. Regulator to regulator exchanges should be automatic and immediate. If they aren’t getting what they have been promised in a timely manner, that is a legitimate beef that should be addressed. What this shouldn’t become is a disproportionate public catalogue (of true UBOs, unlike the UKs fake nominee disclosures) for curious journalists to leaf through, when the lives of innocent children are on the line. The lives of those people matter more than the satisfaction of idle curiosity, especially in cases where the only crime is the K&R its disclosure spawns.
My god you people are incredible. “Regulator to regulator exchanges”? Did you read the post to which you responded? Do you think the “regulator” in Corruptistan is going to look into transactions the President’ daughter has entered into? You are either utter naive or an apologist for corruption and oppression. I’d guess the latter.
The Crown Dependencies are less of a liability to the UK and do not need the same level of regulation imposed on them.
Sure TROLL, guess that was why top officials were in parliament to begin with, because the threats to form a registry are a non issue to the crown dependencies…. We all in the same business in case you haven’t noticed, except that mommy dearest sometimes gets jealous and envious of the kids success from time to time.
Not a troll, a vast amount of the world’s major recent frauds have the grubby pawprints of the Caymans’ secrecy all over them.
Where are the Cayman’s? Are they anywhere the Channel’s? Or maybe the Virgin’s?
Some little punks from the DTs are on here already.
What a bunch.
Stop your stupidity!
We all move together or not at all.
6:24pm, you have proved yourself to be a poorly educated, ignorant hick. All while trying to be clever. I’d steer clear of trying to be clever online if I were you, it is always going to backfire.
First, “Virgin’s” and “Channel’s”. Only a 6 year old struggling in their classwork would write that and not think “Yuck, that is an abomination!”. Few things scream, “ignorant and stupid” louder than the grocer’s apostrophe. (6.24 goes off to google “grocer’s apostrophe”. One might hope this might be a learning experience, but we all know that it will make no difference to them going forward.)
Second, the “what is the Caymans” wise crack is a pathetic parochial affectation born out of ignorance and insularity. Many island groups are, correctly, referred to as plurals when there is a “Grand” island and lesser islands in the group. The Bahamas comprise of Grand Bahama and the lesser Bahamas. The Turks comprise of Grand Turk and the lesser Turks. The Comoros comprise of Grand Comore and the lesser Comoros. I could go on. So it is with the Caymans. There is Grand Cayman and the lesser Caymans. Indeed the Lesser Caymans is a perfectly acceptable geographical term for Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, the term “Lesser Caymans” being more widely adopted in cartography historical than for most lesser island groupings. In fact, I am looking at a sea chart right now of “The Caymans” and there, in big capital letters, are the “Lesser Caymans”. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the term “the Caymans” and the vast majority of the world uses the term.
You should travel more. You should read more too, though I suspect you might find that a challenge unless there are pictures.
You can always count on some prick, deviating away from the article topic in the comments, no matter how important it is, trying to show the world how articulated and supposedly educated they are. And highlight their utter prejudice towards the Cayman Islands and its people, but yet never leave or dying to arrive. Today that fine specimen is you 7:06. Go back to high school or university if you got that far and get your money back, because there is no such location in the world as “The Caymans”. Your time wasting rant made no sense to support your distorted view.
The deviation was by 6.24. 7.06 just slapped it down. Do try to keep up.
Well said. The whole “where is the Caymans?” nonsense is pathetic.
Whinny little Socialist.
I want other people’s money.