The UK government has amended the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act to close a loophole allowing overseas entities acting as nominees to hide the true beneficial owners of UK property. Originally, the Register of Overseas Entities only required identifying the entity’s owners, not the ultimate individuals controlling the assets, which contradicted the goal of exposing anonymous foreign ownership. This fix ensures greater accountability by revealing the real identities behind corporate intermediaries. This development is highly relevant to open data because it strengthens the transparency and utility of public registers. By ensuring data accurately reflects ultimate beneficial ownership, the register becomes a more reliable tool for anti-corruption efforts and public scrutiny. High-quality, open data requires precision; this correction addresses a critical flaw in data structure, enhancing the integrity of the information available to researchers, journalists, and citizens. While significant, gaps remain for properties acquired before October 2020. Nevertheless, this legislative correction represents a major step toward fully transparent open data systems. It demonstrates how advocacy can improve data governance, ensuring that open registers truly serve their purpose of combating economic crime. The focus remains on maintaining and expanding these open data standards to cover all relevant historical and current assets.
Source:Published on 2023-10-28