Financial Accountant quotes Jack Carter on foreign property interests
Efforts to identify foreign property interest in the United Kingdom have intensified and small practices need to be aware of changes in regulations to prevent any risk of criminal or civil liability. Introduced amid geopolitical tensions such as the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 (ECTEA) established the Register of Overseas Entities (ROE) under Companies House.
The move is intended to tackle money laundering by foreign criminals through UK real estate by improving transparency. The Law Society says that ROE applies to an overseas entity that holds the registered ownership of a freehold estate or a lease granted for more than seven years, commencing on or after January 1, 1999. The regime mandates overseas entities wanting to buy, sell, transfer, or lease property in the United Kingdom to apply for registration.
To allow that to happen, verified, beneficial ownership details must be provided by UK based agents and these professionals must ensure they comply with the Money Laundering Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017.
Jack Carter, Associate in our Private Client team, is quoted on the topic by Financial Accountant.
Jack explains that 'updates include recognising nominees holding UK land interests as registrable beneficial owners (RBOs), encompassing all trustees meeting ownership criteria as RBOs, and repealing the exemption for corporate trustee-held interests'.
Read the full article in Financial Accountant here.
