Geoff Cook wrote to the Financial Times recently to respond to an article titled ‘Jersey bows to criticism on financial data’, which claimed ministers were due to sign a deal that meant company financial data would be provided within 24 hours at the request of UK authorities – or within an hour if the demand was urgent and linked to terrorism.
According to the article, published on 12 April, Chief Minister Ian Gorst had been due to sign a deal to open up the Island’s central register of beneficial ownership, which contains details about who owns which companies in Jersey.
Senator Gorst signed the deal, which is designed to help tackle financial crime, last Wednesday and Mr Cook, the head of Jersey Finance, said the move to improve access to the register was part of work that had been going on since 2013, rather than a result of the Panama Papers leak.
