If the amendments to the Bill are passed by the House of Commons it will override the constitutions of Caribbean Overseas Territories and undermine their democratically elected governments.

Through the amendment the UK government would in effect be ordering the overseas territories to change how they run part of their financial services sector, even though this has been formally entrusted to the governments of the territories in their constitutions.

The amendment has already been signed by several senior MPs across parties, including Margaret Hodge, Vince Cable and Ed Miliband.

The proposals have faced backlash from the various overseas territories involved who are against the UK government superseding their own.

In a statement, the government of the British Virgin Islands said: ‘Unless implemented globally, public registers of beneficial ownership are not the silver bullet its supporters seem to suggest they are. As recent evidence has shown, the UK’s register is riddled with inaccuracies, due largely to the fact information is not verified. In contrast, the BVI’s register insists on verified, and therefore accurate, information. Fundamentally the BVI’s register has more stringent oversight than the UK’s and is a more practical solution for rooting out wrong-doing.

 ‘Importantly, to those that say we are dragging our feet, we have repeatedly said that we will adopt a public register if and when it becomes a global standard. As it is, this amendment is discriminatory and unfairly isolates the overseas territories. Research also shows that unilaterally imposing a public register would undermine the BVI’s long term economic sustainability. With the BVI still reeling from the impact of hurricanes Irma and Maria with an estimated £3.6bn hit to our GDP, this would be a case of kicking us while we are down.’

The amendments will be debated in the House of Commons on 1 May.

Report by Amy Austin