A group of Tory and Labour backbenchers are increasingly confident they can force Theresa May to introduce public ownership registers in Britain’s overseas territories in an attempt to prevent them from being used to hide “dirty money”. There are 14 British overseas territories, with a combined population of 350,000. The overseas territories have introduced private central registers of ownership, which are accessible to UK law enforcement and tax authorities. Some of the territories have expressed opposition to the imposition of public registers, with one leading offshore centre saying it would cost its public purse $100m (£72m) a year. The BVI called on the UK government “to foot the bill or see a crisis in the BVI’s public services.

Source: The Guardian April 27, 2018 15:55 UTC