Understanding FOCI Mitigation
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023, with the provisions of ECCTA to be brought in by secondary legislation in stages throughout 2024 and 2025....more
To combat money laundering and other illicit activities via the use of shell companies, Congress passed the 2021 Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), which requires most U.S. businesses (and certain foreign businesses),...more
On 15 December, 2023 the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a request for information on proposed revisions to the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) Report. AFIDA and its...more
SUMMARY - On 17 August, a Florida judged denied a bid by four Chinese citizens and a real estate brokerage firm for summary judgment to block enforcement of Senate Bill 264. Effective 1 July 2023, Senate Bill 264 (codified...more
On 2 August 2023, the Register of Overseas Entities (ROE) update process went live. UK Companies House issued guidance on the requirements overseas entities will have to adhere to in their annual update of the ROE. Our...more
Lawsuit Against Florida Law Restricting Certain Foreign Ownership of Real Property Set for Hearing This Week, DOJ Supports but 12 States Oppose - On July 1, 2023, SB 264 (Chapter No. 2023-33, Laws of Florida) took effect....more
There have been some interesting developments of late with respect to the ownership of real property in parts of the English-speaking world. For example, Canada has imposed a temporary ban on the purchase of such property by...more
The deadline for registration as an Overseas Entity is fast approaching and by 31 January 2023, all qualifying overseas entities, who own freehold land or property in the UK (or leasehold land of more than seven years), must...more
The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 (“Act”) introduces new measures to tackle illicit wealth in the UK property market. The Act is comprised of three parts and Part 1 of the Act (“Part 1”), which became...more
As anticipated in our previous article on 7 March 2022, Companies House launched the new register of overseas entities (the “ROE”) pursuant to the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 (the “Act”), so...more
On 1 August, a new Register of Overseas Entities under the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 came into force, requiring overseas entities that currently own land in the United Kingdom to register verified...more
After some years in the making, the UK register for overseas entities finally opened at Companies House on Monday 1 August 2022. Overseas entities that own registered land in the UK are now required to register at Companies...more
A new Register of Overseas Entities, expected this summer, requires disclosure of beneficial owners. The UK government has introduced legislation1 in Parliament to pave the way for the launch of the new Register of...more
Executive Summary: the 30-second brief- The enactment of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 means that clients will need to review their property portfolio. Where overseas entities are the...more
With sanction regimes taking centre-stage in the global response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, transparency of property ownership has accelerated to become a priority of the United Kingdom’s government. On 15 March...more
New legislation introduces further sanctions powers and aims to tackle financial crime by revealing identities of overseas beneficial owners of UK property. Following the UK government’s successive sanctions packages,...more
The UK Government has recently introduced the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill 2022 (the Bill). Amongst other objectives, the Bill proposes the setting up of a register of overseas entities and their...more
In Carlos Eduardo Lorefice Lynch, et al. v. R Angel Gonzalez Gonzalez, et al., C.A. No. 2019-0356-MTZ (Del. Ch. July 31, 2020), the Delaware Court of Chancery (the “Court”) examined an extensive paper trail purportedly...more
Russia is facing potential restrictions of foreign ownership in digital companies. This follows on similar restrictions over Russian mass media companies and online cinemas which took effect in 2016 and 2017, respectively....more
Draft legislation to implement the government’s proposals for a “beneficial ownership register” has finally been published and the government is seeking views on the detail. The Registration of Overseas Entities Bill follows...more
There seems to be a convergence by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Networks (FinCEN), the Treasury Department and the IRS for determining “who is the UBO” of entities. The U.S. Government is determined to enforce financial...more
The UK’s beneficial ownership disclosure rules for persons with significant control (PSCs) over certain UK entities, introduced in April 2016, have been extended as part of the UK’s implementation of the EU’s Fourth Anti...more
On 5 April 2017, the UK Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (the “Department”) issued a call for evidence (the “proposal”) for a public register (the “foreign ownership register”) which would contain...more
On May 10, 2016, the Treasury Department issued proposed regulations that, if approved, will require business entities formed in the United States that are owned by a single foreign person to obtain an employer identification...more