UK MPs DEMAND OTs IMPLEMENT FULL PARBO LAW

By Staff Writer

Cayman and other UK Caribbean Overseas Territories face a final warning: pass the full UK-drafted Public Access to Beneficial Ownership legislation by this summer, or face consequences.

This message was clear at a recent meeting of the UK parliament’s All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories. The session focused on financial transparency just before the Joint Ministerial Council plenary and in advance of a major illicit finance conference planned for July.

In largely truculent language, Members of Parliament(MPs) expressed frustration at what they regard as the slow pace of the OTs in pushing through legislation to implement the full PARBO law as drafted by the UK.

The legislation, which is at varying stages of implementation among the OTs, is a key driver in UK efforts to combat money laundering, tax evasion and illicit financing. It’s also a key pillar in pushing for greater transparency in the financial sectors, especially in those OTs that rely heavily on the sector as their economic base.

Caymanian Times brings our readers a snapshot of remarks made during the sitting:

Phil Brickell, Labour MP for Bolton West (who requested the hearing): “In a number of our Overseas Territories, low levels of taxation and substandard levels of transparency have attracted the world’s crooks and kleptocrats like moths to a flame...It is an enduring embarrassment going back many, many years, and it undermines our global reputation…The Cayman Islands have also been slow to move from consultation to implementation. Although some good work has been done, substantial areas remain, including exorbitant costs and an unreasonably high threshold for granting applications from civil society and journalists.”

Sir Andrew Mitchell, Conservative MP for Sutton Coldfield (vice-chair of the APPG): “I have recently seen senior representatives from Bermuda and the Cayman Islands who, in my judgment, were truculent and disrespectful of the will of the Westminster Parliament. The BVI is one of the key countries that needs to accept that, if these Overseas Territories and Crown dependencies want to use the British flag and to have our monarch and our laws, they must also accept our values.”

Jo Platt, Labour/Co-op MP for Leigh and Atherton: “As we have heard, financial secrecy in Britain’s Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies enables tax abuse, fraud and organised crime, draining billions from public coffers and weakening enforcement.”

Jim Shannon, Democratic Unionist Party(DUP) of Northern Ireland for Stranford: “We have seen, and the Government are aware of, countless instances of tax evasion and avoidance by people in the United Kingdom, especially in the jurisdiction of the Cayman Islands. That contributes to lost tax revenues across the country. My issue is the loss of tax revenue—money that should be spent in this country on our own people.”

Steff Aquarone, Liberal Democrats MP for North Norfolk: “We still hold power over many of these places, and we can take steps to force their hand if necessary. Orders in Council have been drafted previously, which can require our Overseas Territories to take this action. Governments have been understandably reluctant to take this step, not wanting to appear as the colonial hand reaching across the ocean to meddle in the affairs of its territories. But if we are to provide defence and security for them, stand up for their interests internationally and support them in their hours of need, it is not too much to ask that the Governments of those territories play fair.”

Rebecca Long Bailey, Labour MP for Salford: “The UK must stop indulging secrecy within its own network of territories. It should require those jurisdictions to meet the same standards of transparency and accountability as the mainland. We must make domestic law fit for purpose by ensuring that multinationals cannot hide behind opaque structures, and that the UK does not act as a facilitator for profit shifting through low-tax dependencies.”

Joe Powell, Labour MP for Kensington and Bayswater: “We are also meeting representatives of the Cayman Islands and Bermuda. Although it is not perfect, there has been political commitment from those leaders to make progress and work together…The summit on illicit finance(2026) is a huge opportunity. The summit will be 10 years on from the 2016 anti-corruption summit, where public registers of beneficial ownership for UK companies were first introduced. Could the summit be the moment when we finally move forward on this issue, too?”

Tom Hayes, Labopur MP for Bournemouth East: “I recognise that there are many British overseas territories that are trying to do the right thing, but as we have heard today, some are magnets for dirty money and safe havens for the wealth of autocratic aggressors, laundering billions under the British flag. We must put a stop to that now… Are the Government open to using an Order in Council if progress is not made in the next year?”

Charlie Maynard, Liberal Democrats MP for Witney: “The continued lack of transparency in the overseas tax havens, or overseas territories, including the absence of truly publicly accessible registers of beneficial ownership, poses a real threat to the UK’s reputation and standing in the world. How can we ask others to get their own house in order when we enable these entities on UK sovereign territory to beggar their neighbour on a global scale? The UK Government bear responsibility for this lack of transparency, as British overseas territories are subject to UK law in certain respects.”

Andrew Snowden, Conservative MP, Fylde: From Gibraltar to Bermuda, those jurisdictions have been world-class financial centres. They attract investment, foster innovation and connect our economies to global markets. That success should be celebrated and, of course, accompanied by sound regulation and transparency to ensure that success can continue. Registers of beneficial ownership have been one of the most powerful tools in our fight against economic crime…Gibraltar already leads with a fully public register of beneficial ownership; the Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands have now published legitimate interest registers; and others are due to follow in the next year or two. However, as has been recognised by my right honourable friend and others, there is a significant delay.”

THE PARBO STATE OF PLAY

To date, only two OTs have fully enacted the PARBO law: Montserrat, which does not have a financial services industry, and Gibraltar, which does. St Helena, described as having a modest but functional financial services industry, started its process towards implementation in 2025.

For the rest, the Cayman Islands, Turks & Caicos, British Virgin Islands and Bermuda have implemented what are regarded in some circles as less accessible “legitimate interest” registers as interim steps and remain under pressure to achieve full public access as mandated by the UK. St Helena has launched one in mid-2025, with others like the Cayman Islands, Turks & Caicos, BVI, and Bermuda implementing less accessible “legitimate interest” registers as interim steps, all under pressure to achieve full public access as mandated by the UK.