Further to Ocorian's briefing paper on The UK's Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 (the Act) published in May available here, the Register of Overseas Entities (ROE) went live on the 1st August 2022.
Elements of Secondary Legislation are still being finalised and are expected to be released shortly, however certain key information is now known and confirmed.
All entities which hold UK land will need to join the ROE by 31st January 2023. There are penalties for non-compliance with the Act including financial penalties (up to £2,500) and prison sentences (up to five years), as well as restrictions on the Overseas Entity (OE) being able to buy, sell, transfer, lease or charge their land or property in the UK.
All information entered onto the ROE will need to be verified either through submission of documentation directly to Companies House, or by using an Assured Agent who are appropriately regulated in the UK and supervised under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017.
Ocorian are regulated as such and have been accepted and approved by Companies House as an Assured Agent, and are therefore able to act as verification agent in accordance with the Act. As such, Ocorian are well positioned to assist non-UK holders of UK land and property in their registration process. Ocorian will be reaching out to clients shortly in order to confirm the process and help prioritise entities.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.