Natalia Demina commented for Forbes on the UK’s introduction of a new Register of Overseas Entities

The UK has launched a Register of Overseas Entities, under which all foreign companies owning property in the country are required to disclose their real owners by 31 January 2023. The real beneficiaries are defined as those who own at least 25% of the shares in the legal entity that owns the property. The register was introduced under the new Economic Crime Act passed in 2022 and is another step in the fight against money laundering.

Natalia Demina, Head of Private Wealth practice at Maxima Legal, noted that given the political environment the measure is likely to target Russian asset owners. The expert drew attention of Forbes Russia to the fact that the legislation requires identification only of beneficial owners of the company directly, and not the land or real estate object itself. “This is important because a company may own this land as a nominee who does not own the company,” Natalia stressed.

To read the full article (in Russian) please visit Forbes website >>>