Offshore tax havens undermine UK's new corporate ownership transparency rules

The UK government’s seven-year campaign to make offshore company owners visible has resulted in registers that are technically open but practically difficult to use. In the Cayman Islands, applicants must prove a "legitimate interest," pay at least $75 per request and endure a lengthy form, while the subject can purchase a $1,000 exemption to block disclosure for three years. The British Virgin Islands go further by informing the target of any inquiry, and both jurisdictions have been slow to respond to legitimate requests, as illustrated by a three-month silence on a query about a sanctioned Russian oligarch.

Transparency International and Open Ownership argue that high fees and bureaucratic hurdles keep the data out of reach, whereas island officials claim full access for tax and law-enforcement agencies and say the regime meets global anti-money-laundering directives. Critics, including Margaret Hodge and MPs Phil Brickell and Joe Powell, warn that the lack of real transparency threatens the UK's credibility ahead of an upcoming illicit-finance summit.