This week's high-profile debate in the UK House of Commons passed a set of amendments to the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill that brought the issue of beneficial owners of companies and public registers back into the spotlight.

While we are pleased that the House of Commons chose not to call for legislation relating to the creation of public registries on the Crown Dependencies, in no small part recognising Jersey’s standing as a jurisdiction committed to the global transparency agenda, the debate at times was a source of much frustration, relying on unsubstantiated statistics and an outmoded view of the role of international finance centres.

To be clear, Jersey is absolutely committed to the global transparency agenda and stands side by side with the UK in terms of our shared ambitions to fight financial crime and tackle corruption.