‘A mockery’: how offshore tax havens are thwarting the UK’s transparency push

Подробности

The Cayman Islands has quite a long, drawn-out process for requesting company records in its jurisdiction. Transparency campaigners say aspects of the system in the British Virgin Islands are even worse. Photograph: LOOK Die Bildagentur der Fotografen GmbH/Alamy View image in fullscreen The Cayman Islands has quite a long, drawn-out process for requesting company records in its jurisdiction. Transparency campaigners say aspects of the system in the British Virgin Islands are even worse. Photograph: LOOK Die Bildagentur der Fotografen GmbH/Alamy Tax havens ‘A mockery’: how offshore tax havens are thwarting the UK’s transparency push Critics say ownership registers are too costly and too complicated, scuppering attempts to expose alleged money laundering

Prefer the Guardian on Google S ince Britain’s offshore secrecy jurisdictions caved in to pressure from Westminster to embrace corporate transparency, finding out who owns a company in one of these island havens is, in theory at least, a piece of cake.

All you have to do is show that you have a “legitimate interest” in the data by proving that you are a researcher, journalist, member of a civil society group or a business person considering a transaction with the subject of your inquiry.

Next, you must explain how the information will be used for “preventing, detecting, investigating, combating or prosecution money laundering or its predicate offences or terrorist financing”.

Then there is a fee of at least $75 (£55) for each application. You’ll need to set up an international wire transfer though, rather than a typical online payment.