Crown Office told to crack down on non-compliant SLPs

The Herald reports that UK business minister Margot James admitted that 28,000 SLPs, which are used as tax haven shell firms, have failed to reveal their ultimate owners two months after transparency rules came into effect.

Since August, SLPs have faces fines of £500 per day if they fail to disclose their owners.

However, Ms James has said it is the responsibility of the Crown Office to prosecute non-compliant partnerships.

A Crown Office spokeswoman said: “We will consider any prosecution report in relation to any alleged breach of the new Regulations to assess if there is sufficient evidence that a criminal offence has been committed and if so will consider taking prosecutorial action having regard to the public interest.”

Duncan Hames of Transparency International said: “SLPs are a known vehicle for money laundering, enabling theft on a grand scale from whole populations. The recent move to identify the real people behind SLPs is a welcome step but this law must be enforced.

“Now we have these new rules, Companies House can begin proceedings to investigate – and if necessary strike off SLPs which do not comply. This will prevent them from causing further harm and undermining the UK’s reputation as a respectable place to do business.”

A spokesman for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: “The UK has one of the most transparent and accessible company registers in the world - viewed two billion times last year - meaning company information is under constant scrutiny.

“When irregularities are identified, Companies House takes action and will be contacting all non-compliant Scottish Limited Partnerships to ensure they adhere to the new transparency requirements.

“When Scottish Limited Partnerships choose to ignore these requirements, information is passed to the relevant agencies which can lead to prosecutions.”