Beneficial owners of a particularly opaque corporate structure described by critics as the United Kingdom's "home-grown secrecy vehicle" must be identified from Monday onward under national rules designed to ensure compliance with EU anti-money laundering regulations. According to global advocacy group Transparency International, Scottish limited partnerships, or SLPs, a once rarely used company structure created more than 100 years ago, have become increasingly popular as a tool to launder illicit proceeds while keeping beneficial ownership secret and providing a seemingly respectable U.K. commercial front. Some 5,215 SLPs were registered in 2016, more than in the 100 years since the legal...
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