New government register shows how offshore jurisdictions used for ownership of nearly 200 properties including hotels and country estates
Rob Davies
@ByRobDavies
Sat 28 Jan 2023 07.30 GMT
The royal families of Gulf states including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar own more than £1bn of UK property via offshore jurisdictions, such as Jersey and the British Virgin Islands, the Guardian can reveal.
UK property is worth around the £10 trillion mark. £9 trillion housing, $1.6 trillion commercial property. Just the numbers from a quick Mr. Google. They’ve got 0.01% of the total. A terror I tell ‘ee, a terror.
The G knows all about assets being sheltered in offshore jurisdictions.
So, about 100 central London properties? The horror!
Yet nobody is asking the question “Why are they doing this”?
Is it because of the excessive taxation on sale? Is it reasons of privacy? Is it fear of confiscation by UK authorities of unfounded (or possibly even well founded) fears of money laundering.
The register alone tells us nothing really.
I know Jersey isn’t in the UK, but that’s a very technical distinction.
It’s still in Crown reach.
Dear Mr Worstall
If the property were owned directly by a forin person, habitually living in forin, wouldn’t it be owned via a forin jurisdiction?
Askin’ for a friend.
DP