UK presses TCI over costly restrictions on company-ownership searches
The United Kingdom is pressing the Turks and Caicos Islands to improve access to information identifying the people who ultimately own or control companies, saying the territory’s current beneficial-ownership system requires further work.
In a written parliamentary answer published on September 1, UK Overseas Territories Minister Uma Kumaran confirmed that application fees are among the issues Britain is discussing with the TCI Government.
Kumaran said legitimate-interest registers should provide the “maximum possible degree of access and transparency,” while protecting constitutional rights to privacy. She added that Britain still expects its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies ultimately to establish fully public registers of beneficial ownership.
The minister said she most recently discussed the issue with TCI Premier Washington Misick on August 10. The parliamentary answer did not identify any reforms agreed during that meeting or provide a timetable for changes.
The comments have acquired added significance with Kumaran currently in the TCI on official visit, which is her first official visit to the territory since taking responsibility for the Overseas Territories. Her visit, which started on Monday, September 7, is focused on national security, economic growth and the UK-TCI relationship.
The published programme includes talks with Misick, Cabinet members, Opposition Leader Edwin Astwood and national-security officials. Beneficial-ownership transparency was not identified as a formal agenda item in the announcement of the visit.
Under the Beneficial Ownership (Amendment) Regulations 2025, journalists and bona fide academic researchers may apply to the Financial Services Commission for access to specified ownership information. Certain civil-society organisations and people examining a company in connection with an actual or potential business transaction may also qualify.
Applicants must show that the information is being sought for a purpose connected to preventing, detecting, investigating, combating or prosecuting money laundering, associated offences or terrorist financing. An application must be accompanied by supporting information and a $250 administrative fee.
A parliamentary question answered alongside Kumaran’s statement described the charge as a non-refundable fee for each search request. The regulations themselves specify the $250 fee but do not state in the cited provision whether it is refunded when an application is refused.
The rules permit one application to cover more than one company if the companies are connected. They define connected companies narrowly for this purpose: companies alleged to be involved together in money laundering, a related offence or terrorist financing.
Those conditions could make complex public-interest investigations expensive, particularly when a journalist or organisation needs to examine several companies but cannot establish the required connection between them before gaining access.
Beneficial-ownership records can help investigators identify hidden interests in companies involved in public contracts, land transactions or development projects. They may also expose conflicts of interest, corruption or illicit financial activity. Being named as a beneficial owner, however, is a normal feature of legitimate company ownership and does not itself indicate wrongdoing.
The TCI regulations also place controls on information obtained through an approved application. Recipients must use it only for the purpose for which it was requested and must not publish it outside the activity for which legitimate-interest access was granted.
The rules generally prohibit disclosure to another person unless disclosure is required by law or is connected to legal proceedings. A failure to comply with those requirements may attract a $25,000 financial penalty.
The provision is not a blanket ban on publishing beneficial-ownership information. Its precise effect on routine journalistic practices, including sharing material with editors, lawyers or reporting partners, remains unclear and may require an authoritative interpretation from the FSC or the courts.
The Government could argue that application tests and restrictions are necessary to protect legitimate privacy and guard against risks such as kidnapping, extortion, violence or intimidation. The same regulations allow beneficial owners to seek protection from disclosure where they can demonstrate a serious risk to themselves or someone in their household.
Kumaran’s statement nevertheless signals that the UK does not regard the existing arrangements as the final stage of reform.
Neither the parliamentary answer nor the visit announcement says whether the TCI Government has agreed to reduce the $250 fee, relax the information-use provisions or introduce wider public access. It is also not yet publicly clear how many applications have been submitted, approved or refused, how long decisions have taken, or whether anyone has been penalised for breaching the use restrictions.
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