Context
Companies House has published a new blog outlining how its Register of Overseas Entities helps to tackle economic crime. Introduced in 2022, the Register of Overseas Entities plays a central role in ongoing efforts to improve transparency of property ownership and strengthen trust in the UK business environment. The register helps to identify overseas entities that own land and property in the UK, making it harder to hide illicit wealth behind complex corporate structures.
Key points to note and next actions
The register intersects with enhanced powers introduced through the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. It contributes to Companies House’s wider work to:
- improve the accuracy and reliability of register data; and
- increase their ability to query and challenge information they believe to be suspicious or misleading.
The article comments on the following topics:
- Why the Register of Overseas Entities matters
- Preventing abuse of UK property
- Supporting intelligence and enforcement
- Building a more transparent system
- Looking ahead