Activists and politicians tout beneficial registries as a solution to the perceived abuse of anonymous company ownership. Stephen Baker and Charlie Sorensen of Baker & Partners contend that kleptocratic dictators and sophisticated fraudsters won’t be impeded by such registries. The authors explain how existing civil laws have proven effective in seizing ill-gotten gains. Recent high-profile […]

A Blomberg’s article “Dirty Money Spotlights Role of Family Offices as Enablers” identifies a Guernsey trust company in the web of structures involving Jahangir Hajiyev and his wife, Zamira who is subject to the UKs first UWO • https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-07-30/dirty-money-spotlights-role-of-family-offices-as-enablers THE Blomberg’s story provides the following facts and observations: Introduction 1. Jahangir Hajiyev was convicted of […]

How the UK’s property market is serving as a money-laundering vehicle for the world’s criminal and corrupt. The son of former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev lives in a £3.5 million mansion in the Borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, despite being convicted in his homeland of the attempted murder of a UK citizen and […]

Following a commitment made at this summer’s G8 summit, the UK Prime Minister David Cameron recently announced plans to create a public register of the beneficial owners of UK companies. It is hoped that by promoting transparency, the proposal will help prevent money laundering and tax evasion. Who will it affect? Companies will have to […]