More than 70% of properties held via overseas shell companies have not published information about who really owns them, despite the introduction of the register of overseas entities earlier this year, according to a new report published by researchers from LSE, the University of Warwick and the Centre for Public Data.
The report found information about the owners of 109,000 properties in England and Wales controlled via overseas shell companies has not been made public and there are 54,000 properties owned via overseas shell companies where even law enforcement agencies do not know the true identities of the beneficial owners.
In 10% of cases (15,000 properties), the company is missing from the register of overseas entities (ROE) altogether, and in a further 25% of cases (39,000 properties) essential information has not been reported.
In the ‘Catch me if you can: Gaps in the Register of Overseas Entities’ report published ahead of the House of Commons considering Lords’ amendments to the Economic Crime Bill aimed at closing some of these loopholes, the authors make 10 recommendations that the government could adopt to close the gaps identified.
Andy Summers, associate professor at LSE Law School and LSE’s International Inequalities Institute (III), said: “There is no point building a dam halfway across a river. These gaps are threatening the efficacy of the entire register and the government should close them at the earliest opportunity.”
César Poux, research officer at the III, added: “The striking thing is that most of the problems with the register are self-inflicted. There certainly is some rule-breaking, but most of the problems are because the legislation is flawed.”
Anna Powell-Smith, director of the Centre for Public Data said: “We still don’t know who really owns tens of thousands of properties in the UK. The government should act to close these loopholes.”
