After the deadline to disclose the identity of beneficial owners passed, overseas owners of property in the UK now risk financial fines or legal action.

After the deadline for registering with British authorities and disclosing the identity of their beneficial owners passed, overseas owners of property in the UK now risk financial fines or legal action.

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy stated in an e-mailed statement on Wednesday that the UK government is planning enforcement action against organisations that haven't complied with the deadline of January 31 and who may face "serious consequences." Out of the 32,440 overseas entities that have been registered, an estimated 12,930 have not yet disclosed who its beneficial owners are, according to BEIS.

Business minister Martin Callanan stated in the statement that corrupt elites and criminals have nowhere to hide. "We will take action against foreign corporations who have disobeyed using all the means at our disposal, including penalties and bans."

The register deconstructs a portion of the historically secretive UK real estate market, which has developed into a sanctuary for the super-rich throughout the world. The UK's capital is known as "Londongrad" due to an inflow of high-net-worth buyers, particularly Russian billionaires.

As a result of the European Court of Justice's decision to invalidate public beneficial ownership registers for member states of the European Union, the register places the UK on a different path from its neighbours.

The UK took additional steps to combat dirty money when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, including ending its signature "golden visa" programme, which granted foreign investors the ability to reside in the nation. Ten Russians who eventually received penalties utilised the so-called Tier 1 Investor Visa, according to Home Secretary Suella Braverman in January.

Piers Master, a lawyer at the legal firm Charles Russell Speechlys in London who specialises in representing affluent clients, said of the register, "The spark for it was Ukraine." "It all of a sudden gained the political momentum it had been lacking for a number of years."

“What will happen to companies who miss the deadline is a subject of much conjecture. We hope the UK would be kind on them if they have tried to comply," he added.

Watchdog Transparency International condemned the UK in a report released on Tuesday for spending and political scandals. But, applauded it for putting up the register and dubbed it "one of the leaders when it comes to beneficial ownership transparency." However, it claimed that approximately 90,000 properties were owned secretly by offshore corporations.

(Bloomberg.com, Transparency.org)