🇬🇧 Cayman Islands Premier in UK for beneficial ownership discussions
🔍 Talks focus on the introduction of open registers in overseas territories
Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly of the Cayman Islands is currently in the UK for a series of meetings, including a discussion with the overseas territories minister, David Rutley, about beneficial ownership. This follows recent remarks by Deputy Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell, who stated that the UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs) need to make greater efforts to introduce open registers. No official details about the Premier's itinerary for these crucial meetings have been released.
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The topic of beneficial ownership and the Cayman Islands' pledge to establish public registers of the ultimate owners and beneficiaries of companies and other financial vehicles registered in the territory has been influenced by a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling. The ECJ raised concerns about the potential human rights infringements of publicly accessible registers, although its decisions do not apply in this jurisdiction. The Cayman Islands, like all British territories with financial centres, is under pressure to introduce a public register, and officials have committed to doing so by the end of this year. The transparency of the offshore sector was improved with the passage of the Beneficial Ownership Transparency Bill last November, which enhances access to beneficial ownership information for relevant agencies involved in criminal investigations. However, the bill did not provide for an open register.
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At a recent event hosted by a British think tank, Mitchell said that the crown dependencies and overseas territories will face renewed demands from the Foreign Office to comply with the establishment of public registers of beneficial share ownership. He underscored the importance of these territories sharing British values, particularly in preventing the flow of "dirty money". The pressure on this issue may increase in the coming months, following the announcement by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that the British people will vote on 4 July. As Labour currently has a 22-point lead over the Conservatives, it is highly likely that they will form the next government, which could result in increased pressure on this issue.
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