If you are a property owner in the UK, or about to acquire or recently sold property there then you will need to know much more about a new piece of UK legislation designed to tackle money laundering. 

This new legislation comes into effect from 1 August 2022; any overseas entity that wants to buy, sell, or transfer property or land in the UK must meet the following requirements:

1. They must register with UK Companies House. 
2. They must declare who their registrable beneficial owners or managing officers are before 31 January 2023. 
3. Entities that disposed of property or land after 28 February 2022 must also register and give details of that disposal.

For more information on the legislation: 

• The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 provides the legislative background to this new requirement.
• This legislation creates the Register of Overseas Entities.
• The procedure for making registration applications is set out in the Register of Overseas Entities (Delivery, Protection and Trust Services) Regulations 2022 
• The rules around verification are contained in the Register of Overseas Entities (Verification and Provision of Information) Regulations 2022.

If you would like to discuss the above in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact our team if you need advice.