U.K. attorneys should exercise "extreme caution" when verifying and supplying information to a new, nationally administered public database of individuals who beneficially own real estate in Britain through offshore legal entities, a trade group has warned. Rules designed to stem the tide of illicit wealth into Britain came into force Monday, requiring individuals and entities who own British property of any value through a foreign legal arrangement to declare their owners to the database, or Register of Overseas Entities, by Jan. 31 of next year, or face daily fines as high as £2,500 and up to five years in prison....
U.K. lawmakers made last-day amendments to plug several loopholes in legislation passed Tuesday that mandates the creation of a public database of individuals who use offshore legal entities to acquire real estate in Britain.
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