In a recent article in Financier Worldwide, “UK targets overseas territories transparency“, Associate Kayla Theeuwen shared her views about the imposition of public registers in British overseas territories (OTs) and how they will impact corporate entities domiciled in those jurisdictions.
She said, “the imposition of public registers risks driving companies to other offshore financial centres that are not as well-regulated as the OTs. There is also a risk that companies registered in OTs with public registers will under-report or will fraudulently report information about beneficial ownership. If these risks come to fruition, we may see the opposite of the intended effect in OTs: companies are likely to redomicile, and UK law enforcement and tax authorities may have less information – and less accurate information – at their disposal to facilitate the global fight against money laundering and other financial crime.”
Kayla is part of a team at WeirFoulds that specializes in resolving complex commercial and multi-jurisdictional disputes in Canada, Central America and the Eastern Caribbean. She is continuously working to strengthen her legal practice so she can provide her clients with top advice from the unique position of being a Bay Street lawyer with a deep understanding of the legal landscape in the Caribbean.
