UK pulls debate on Brexit bill after pressure from Jersey
Amendments to the Financial Services Bill would force British dependencies to expose the real owners of companies by 2020
London — The UK government pulled a debate on a key piece of Brexit legislation after Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man warned against plans to force an end to secret company ownership. The main sticking point is a proposed cross-party amendment to the Financial Services Bill led by former international development secretary Andrew Mitchell. It calls for British overseas territories and crown dependencies to publish a register of the real owners of companies by the end of 2020 — three years earlier than the UK government planned to make it obligatory. “It is a respected constitutional position that the UK does not legislate for the crown dependencies on domestic matters without our consent,” the three dependencies said in a statement. Several proposed amendments relating to company registers run “contrary to the established constitutional relationships” and “would produce inoperable legislation”, they said. The Financial Times reported that leaders of the three jurisdictions woul...
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