Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man have finally committed to making records of company ownership public following years of fierce criticism from British MPs that the lack of transparency in the crown dependencies could be aiding money laundering and other financial crimes.
The beneficial ownership registers, which show the ultimate owner of a company, are currently only accessible by local authorities based in the islands. The new plans would see these records being made available to the European Union, businesses, and the general public by 2023.
