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Acting to stop harm: the FCA and Appointed Representatives
James Alleyne
With just over two weeks to go until the Prime Minister’s Global Anti-Corruption Summit, the Home Office announced plans on 21 April to make the UK a more hostile environment for people seeking to move, hide or use the proceeds of crime or corruption.
Action Plan for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist finance
Theresa May set out proposals for updating our anti-money laundering laws, which include options for new legal powers:
Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs)
UWO’s would enable UK investigators to get behind the ownership of assets that are out of line with an individual’s lawful income. They will be able to question individuals in relation to “unexplained wealth” and to use that information to support civil recovery proceedings against such assets, even where there is no proof to a criminal standard that the asset in question is connected to a crime.
Read more on the development of UK UWOs.
Property in the UK owned by offshore companies
The Government announced in November 2015 that all UK companies would be forced to reveal their ultimate owners under new plans for a register of beneficial ownership by June 2016. Other EU countries are also due to implement central registers of corporate beneficial ownership by 2017. However, NGOs, including Transparency International had hoped for a similar register for transparency of ownership of UK properties held by non-UK companies.
According to Transparency International, at least 36,000 London properties are owned by offshore companies. Other reports estimate the value of holdings in British property at £170 billion.
The Government issued a discussion paper on transparency of beneficial ownership recently, with a proposal for foreign companies to provide their beneficial ownership information when either purchasing property or bidding for public contracts. The Government is currently analysing the responses to that paper and in the current climate it is likely that there will shortly be legislative proposals for change.
Any Cause for Concern?
As noted here in September 2015, the same concerns exist today following the Government’s announcement. Tackling corruption and money laundering is admirable and necessary, however the new proposed powers in relation to UWOs and a new forfeiture power can be viewed as worrying examples of state interference with the property rights and privacy rights of individuals, and will need to be introduced with some care.
The Anti-Corruption Summit is set to begin on 12 May 2016 when it is expected that further announcements dealing with unexplained wealth from corruption will be forthcoming.
We welcome views and opinions about the issues raised in this blog. Should you require specific advice in relation to personal circumstances, please use the form on the contact page.
James Alleyne
Lucy Bluck
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