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Hiding money in British overseas territories has a negative impact on British families, a Labor MP has warned.
Phil Brickell will lead the debate Parliament where he will call on wednesday whitehall Clarity on ministers’ efforts to tackle financial secrecy in areas where they have few levers of power.
Government Anti-corruption champion Baroness margaret hodge Visited the British Virgin Islands (BVI) earlier this year amid fears that authorities in the Caribbean archipelago are taking too long to meet the UK’s minimum standards on so-called dirty money.
London hopes open registers of beneficial ownership will become a “global norm” for transparency about companies and who exercises significant control over assets.
In a joint communique last year following the annual UK-Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council, participants said that in areas that do not yet have laws in place to establish a register with access to those with a legitimate interest, it would be implemented by June 2025 or earlier.
But a coalition of anti-corruption campaign groups, including Transparency International UK and Tax Justice UK, have warned that there are still inadequate laws in some areas.
Mr Brickell will use his Westminster Hall debate to update Baroness Hodge’s visit to Barking and urge the Foreign Office to set out its expectations for overseas territories.
“Financial secrecy in overseas territories makes life much harder for hard-working families in our countries,” the Bolton West MP and chair of the Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax All-Party Parliamentary Group said before the debate.
“From dying of hunger treasure From vital funding to schools and hospitals, to vape shops blighting our high streets and property prices distorting beyond the reach of ordinary people, this issue has many real and far-reaching consequences for our communities.
Jo Wright, policy and advocacy manager at Tax Justice UK, said: “The UK is losing at least £15 billion a year to international tax abuse, a loss that our communities and crumbling public services cannot afford.
“As we approach the Budget, this government must take bold action to tackle tax abuse in the UK’s overseas territories and Crown dependencies, force the territories to implement financial transparency measures and equip HMRC with the resources needed to tackle tax abuse by the wealthiest and most powerful.”
Transparency International has previously identified £5.9bn worth of “suspicious” funds invested in UK properties since 2016, which were bought using shell companies registered in overseas territories.
The organization found that more than 90% of these funds went through the BVI.
“Ending corporate secrecy is essential to tackling corruption around the world,” said Margot Molat, senior researcher at Transparency International UK.
“For too long, hidden company ownership has allowed corrupt people and criminals to hide their stolen wealth.”