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New UK law orders foreigners to declare acquired properties

Published

2 years ago

September 1, 2022

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The United Kingdom (UK), has mandated foreigners or overseas entities that own land or property to declare beneficial owners and/or managing officers.

The law entitled ‘Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022’ established the new ‘Register of Overseas Entities’, held by the UK’s Companies House.

The law, which took effect on August 1, 2022, also made provisions for “severe sanctions” for those who do not comply, including restrictions on buying, selling, transferring, leasing or charging their land or property in the UK.

Under the new law, overseas entities who want to buy, sell or transfer property or land in the UK must register with the Companies House and declare who their registrable beneficial owners or managing officers are.

The law also required overseas entities who already own or lease land or property in the UK to register with Companies House and disclose registrable beneficial owners or managing officers by January 31, 2023.

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“This applies to overseas entities who bought property or land on or after: 1 January 1999 in England and Wales, 8 December 2014 in Scotland,” the UK government said.

“Overseas entities only need to register property or land bought in Northern Ireland on or after 1 August 2022.”

It added that entities that disposed of property or land after February 28, 2022, would need to give details of those dispositions.

The development comes almost a year after the Pandora Papers exposed how world leaders , politicians and billionaires use shell companies to move wealth offshore, anonymously buy real estate or luxury goods, and avoid paying huge sums of tax revenue.

The Pandora Papers project is led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which Premium Times is a part of.

Findings by the project revealed that Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra; Gboyega Oyetola, Osun governor and Stella Oduah, a serving senator, are among those who have allegedly benefitted illegally from offshore service firms.

READ See what your state got for February 2024 allocation from FAAC

Related Topics:New UK law PANDORA PAPERS Register of Overseas Entities

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UPDATED: Tinubu appoints Jim Ovia as chairman of education loan fund

Published

9 hours ago

April 26, 2024

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President Bola Tinubu has appointed Jim Ovia as the chairman of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesperson, announced the appointment of Ovia, chairman of Zenith Bank, in a statement on Friday.

Ngelale said Tinubu believes that Ovia will bring his immense wealth of experience to ensure that no Nigerian student suffers a paucity of funds in the quest for tertiary education.

On April 3, Tinubu signed the student loans amendment bill into law to provide Nigerians with quality and accessible education.

The law will allow Nigerian students in tertiary institutions to access low-interest loans for tuition and other academic needs.

Subsequently, the president appointed Akintunde Sawyerr as the managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of the fund.

Tinubu also appointed Frederick Oluwafemi Akinfala as the executive director of finance and administration, while Mustapha Iyal will serve as the executive director of operations of NELFUND.

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JUST IN: Tinubu appoints Jim Ovia as chairman of education loan fund

Published

11 hours ago

April 26, 2024

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President Bola Tinubu has appointed Jim Ovia as the chairman of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesperson, announced the appointment of Ovia, chairman of Zenith Bank, in a statement on Friday.

More to follow…

READ How I became rich, Peter Obi responds to Pandora Papers allegations

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ICPC detains TETFund boss ‘over questionable N7.6bn project’

Published

15 hours ago

April 26, 2024

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The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has detained Sonny Echono, executive secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

Demola Bakare, ICPC spokesperson, confirmed the development on Friday.

Bakare said that Echono was invited by the anti-graft agency on Thursday.

“The executive secretary of TETFund is here with us. He has been invited for questioning. He is still in custody. He was invited yesterday.” Bakare said.

“He was invited on Thursday. He has not been released. He’s still with us. Investigation is still ongoing.”

It was earlier reported that TETfund awarded two contracts to Fides Et Ratio Academy and Pole Global Marketing (PGM) within two months at the cost of N3.8 billion respectively without the approval of the federal executive council (FEC), which is required for the contract size.

The contract was to provide capacity building course and learning management systems to about 2 million students across higher institutions in the country.

READ 2023: INEC publishes notice of election

In a rejoinder, TETFund said it did not award N7.6 billion contracts to two companies without due process.

The agency said it was wrong to say they were contracts, whereas they were ICT projects implemented under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) which doesn’t require competitive bidding in public procurement.

TETFund further said its disbursement guidelines were approved by the president on the recommendation of the “Fund’s Board of Trustees and concurrence of the Honourable Minister of Education in line with the TETFund Act 2011″.

In an interview with TheCable, Echono said there was no form of irregularity in the N7.6 billion project.