Illicit offshore finance: Examining the measures adopted by the United Kingdom to enhance corporate transparency

This chapter provides a critical insight into illicit offshore finance and the key challenges facing governments in tackling money laundering through offshore jurisdictions. The secretive world of offshore finance has come under increasing scrutiny since recent exposés. The ‘Pandora Papers’ and similar leakages highlighted the apparent widespread misuse of offshore jurisdictions for tax-evasion and money-laundering purposes. Focusing on the UK’s anti-money laundering regime, this chapter explores the legal and practical measures adopted by the UK in its effort to enhance corporate transparency. The UK has responded to such controversies by introducing registers of beneficial owners, an Economic Crime plan, and new Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency laws. However, many view the UK’s approach to tackling money laundering as costly and ineffective. The chapter concludes by analysing the success of the UK’s measures to strengthen beneficial ownership transparency and disrupt illicit offshore flows.