British politicians said “significant progress” was made among Overseas Territories in the delivery of greater corporate transparency when updates were provided to Parliament this week.

Bermuda’s commitment to accessible beneficial ownership information was included in the information presented in the House of Commons.

David Rutley, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Americas, Caribbean and the Overseas Territories, delivered a written statement in the House on Monday.

It said: “Publicly accessible registers of beneficial ownership are an essential tool in the fight against illicit finance and corruption and provide substantial wider benefits to public trust in institutions and transparency in the business environment.

“We welcomed the commitments made by all inhabited Overseas Territories to implement publicly accessible registers of beneficial ownership in line with the draft Order in Council issued in response to the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2018.

“In 2020, we set out in a written ministerial statement our expectation that the territories would implement registers by the end of 2023.

“In November 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union found that an EU requirement to implement publicly accessible registers was contrary to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

“This ruling does not apply to the UK or its Overseas Territories. However, several Overseas Territories have noted concerns about the legal implications of implementing a publicly accessible register of beneficial ownership if human rights provisions applicable to them were to be interpreted in a similar way.

“The UK remains satisfied with the lawfulness of our own register and the ability of territories to meet the requirements of the draft Order in Council.”

Mr Rutley’s statement added: “Given our differing views on this ruling with several Overseas Territories, we have worked with them to find a way to make positive progress through the delivery of an interim step, which would involve the implementation of publicly accessible registers of beneficial ownership, with a legitimate interest access filter, next year.

“This would allow access to beneficial ownership information by members of the public who have a legitimate interest in doing so, including media and civil society organisations who are involved in the fight against illicit finance and money laundering.

“Following intensive discussions with each of the Overseas Territories at the Joint Ministerial Council and across a series of bilateral conversations, we have made significant progress in the delivery of greater corporate transparency.”

Mr Rutley, whose statement was also made in the House of Lords by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, United Nations and the Commonwealth, told MPs: “The Government of Bermuda expressed their own commitment to make their register of beneficial ownership information accessible to the public within 12 months of the publication of the implementation review of the European Union’s Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive.

“This directive does not apply to the Overseas Territories, Crown Dependencies or the United Kingdom.”

The statement added: “The UK Government welcomes the continued co-operation of Overseas Territory governments in this matter.

“Our longstanding commitments to meet the highest standards in beneficial ownership transparency sets out our collective desire to be at the forefront of the fight against illicit finance.

“The commitments outlined above will represent a significant step forward in the Overseas Territories delivering their commitments to improve corporate transparency.

“We expect this interim step to be a part of the journey towards the implementation of fully publicly accessible registers of beneficial ownership in due course.

“The UK Government remains committed to publicly accessible registers becoming the global norm.”

David Burt, the Premier and Minister of Finance, told the House of Assembly last month that the subject of publicly accessible registers of beneficial ownership continued to “remain a priority” in talks with the British Government.

He added: “Bermuda’s position remains firm — we have committed to publicly accessible registers within 12 months of the publication of the implementation review of the European Union’s fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive.

“Bermuda will then bring into effect the legislative framework to establish public access to beneficial ownership data held in a central register, mindful of the recent European Court ruling that stated the privacy rights that may be infringed by a public register must be balanced by a legitimate interest test for persons seeking access to that register.”

A European Commission spokesman said yesterday: “According to Article 65 of Directive [EU] 2015/849, the commission shall draw up a report on the implementation of this directive and submit it to the European Parliament and to the council.”

He said that report was expected to be published in the first quarter of 2024.

The Bermuda Government was asked to confirm if the implementation review referenced by the Premier was the same as the report mentioned by the European Commission spokesman, but no response was received by the time of publication.