SUMMARY
The Global Forum rated the UK overall Largely Compliant with the international standard on transparency and exchange of information on requests handled over the period from 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2017. While the UK has been one of the first jurisdictions to implement a register of beneficial ownership information, it was found that it still needs to strengthen its supervision and enforcement measures to ensure that information recorded is adequate, accurate and up to date. The review also concludes that beneficial ownership and accounting information may not be available for all entities and arrangements. Another key area for improvement refers to the scope and practical implementation of the powers to access information, as the formal process to access information from third parties continued to delay effective exchange of information and occasionally created an undue burden to the UK’s partners. The UK was nonetheless capable of responding to most requests in a timely manner, and the majority of its partners praised the working relationship established with the UK competent authority. A major global financial centre with a large network of EOI mechanisms, the UK received more than 5 200 EOI requests and sent over 1 700 EOI requests during the review period. Read the news release.