Anguilla passes law to allow controlled access to company ownership records

The Anguilla House of Assembly has passed legislative amendments introducing controlled access to beneficial ownership records.

The change establishes a legal framework for a “legitimate interest” model, under which requests for information on who ultimately owns or operates companies must be justified and approved.

It also strengthens safeguards allowing those concerned to apply to block disclosure where it could pose a serious risk to themselves or members of their household.

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Premier Cora Richardson Hodge moved the bill for the Commercial Registry and Beneficial Ownership Registration System (Amendment) Act, 2026 on 22 May.

She said it came following ongoing pressure from the United Kingdom to move toward greater transparency and make it harder for financial criminals to hide behind companies and legal structures.

While the UK had requested unrestricted public access, a Court of Justice of the European Union judgment in 2022 found that could lead to “a disproportionate interference with fundamental privacy rights”.

The premier said this reminded jurisdictions that the fight against financial crime must be pursued “within the boundaries of privacy, due process, personal security and lawful administration”.

“Anguilla is not refusing transparency, Anguilla is not stepping away from its international obligations, but Anguilla is also not throwing open private information to the world without structure or safeguards.

“We are choosing a more careful, more defensible path, one which has also been pursued by other overseas territories,” she told members of the assembly.

Key amendments

Richardson Hodge said the bill introduces five key amendments to the Commercial Registry and Beneficial Ownership Registration System Act passed in 2022.

Firstly it introduces a definition of legitimate interest, providing the legal foundation for the access framework.

Secondly, it removes the unused provision for public access and replaces it with access by people the Financial Services Commission determines to have a legitimate interest.

This will permit disclosure to investigative journalists, academic researchers, civil society organisations and those undertaking due diligence, where the request relates to the prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of financial crime.

Thirdly, the bill strengthens the process for application to prohibit disclosure of beneficial ownership information where the registrable person believes it would expose them to serious risk.

“Importantly, the bill extends this protection beyond the registrable person alone. It also recognises risk to individuals living in the same household,” the premier said, adding that it must be evidence-based.

Fourthly, the bill provides that, while an application to prohibit disclosure is pending, the information that is subject to that application must not be disclosed.

And lastly, the bill closes a gap in the beneficial ownership framework – if a company has no registrable beneficial owner, it will be required to identify its senior managing official as the contact person.

“This bill says that Anguilla will continue to meet its obligations, it says that we will stand with the international community in the fight against illicit finance, it says that we will modernise our systems and strengthen our laws,” the premier said.

“But it also says that we will do so in a way that is proportionate, in a way that protects persons at genuine risk, in a way that preserves confidence in our jurisdiction, and in a way that reflects the maturity of this house and this government.”

The bill moved through the second reading, committee stage without amendments and third reading before being passed.

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