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A UK law to make public which oligarchs and firms linked to Russia have used Jersey structures to buy property in London is due to be fast-tracked through Parliament today.
Politicians are gathering in Westminster to debate the long-promised Economic Crime Bill.
If approved – which is certain in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – the legislation will create a register of overseas ownership of UK land and property, widen the scope of ‘Unexplained Wealth Orders’, and make it easier to prosecute anyone breaking sanctions.
When the register comes in – and today’s debate is likely to focus on that – anyone registering a property or plot of land with Companies House will have to declare who ultimately benefits from it and not just the owning company, which could be registered in Jersey or another offshore finance centre.
External Relations Minister Senator Ian Gorst said that Jersey is fully supportive of this new public registry.
Pictured: The registry aims to identify assets owned by Russians linked to Vladimir Putin and his regime.
He said: “Jersey continues to stand alongside the UK and international partners in our condemnation of Russia’s actions against Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, and we are aligned with the UK in taking strong economic measures.
“We are in regular contact with the UK Government and have been giving active consideration to any changes that may be required in Jersey as a result of the Economic Crime Bill.
“However, Jersey is in a very different position to the UK. We already have in place wide-ranging freezing and confiscation powers over financial assets.
“We also operate a register of beneficial ownership of companies that is populated by a well-regulated financial services community and vigorously checked. The provisions in the Economic Crime Bill are looking to advance the UK position in this regard.
“In my statement to the States Assembly on 3 March, I stated that, where the UK takes further actions, beyond sanctions, we will give effect to the policy intention of all additional measures being introduced.
“We will continue to monitor those changes as the legislation is finalised by the UK Parliament.
“Depending on the final form of that legislation, Jersey legal entities that own property in the UK may be required to file certain information directly with UK authorities, and we will continue to monitor the impact of that legislation as it is finalised.”
UK ministers have put amendments forward to reduce the time given to comply with new rules from 18 months down to six.
But Labour said this would still give oligarchs linked to Russia too long to get rid of their assets, and instead this should go down to just 28 days.
A separate amendment being proposed by the UK government also aims to increase penalties for non-compliance from fines of up to £500 per day to up to £2,500.
The UK government has already imposed sanctions on Russian companies, banks and individuals with links to President Putin, after he ordered the invasion of Ukraine almost two weeks ago.
These have been automatically adopted in Jersey; however, there remain a number of Putin-linked Russians who have been sanctioned by the US or the European Union, but not by the UK or Jersey.
The bill is expected to pass all stages in the House of Commons today and will then move to the House of Lords, before its expected passing into law later this month.
This morning, BCR Law Managing Partner David Benest and English Solicitor Ashley Quenault advised: "Jersey companies owning real estate based in the UK will have to be ready to comply with this piece of legislation if and when it is enacted as they would have to ensure that they are registered with Companies House as an overseas entity in order to be able to deal with any UK-based real estate."
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