Highlights from the Verify x CRO Tour: Companies House Changes Across the Crown Dependencies

If you work offshore with UK companies or assets, Companies House is no longer a place you can deal with as freely as before. The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 is changing who can file, how identity is verified and how much information is made public.

To help firms get ahead of it, Verify by Tiller teamed up with CRO Corporate Services for a series of breakfast and lunch briefings across Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man. Liz Kinsey, Managing Director at CRO, led each session, drawing on over 25 years in company formations and company secretarial law.

What we covered

• Where things stand now under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023
• The identity verification changes being introduced, and who needs to act
• Tighter transparency requirements for the Register of Overseas Entities
• New filing requirements for Authorised Corporate Service Providers submitting accounts and confirmation statements

Guernsey, 28 September: where the tour began

Guernsey kicked things off with a mix of legal, compliance consulting and trust professionals attending. The questions kept coming, and plenty of people stayed behind at the end to carry on the discussion one-to-one.

Jersey, 29 September: the registry in the room

The Head of the Jersey registry was in the room. The JFSC and Government are progressing their own evaluation of the role of identity verification at the registry, with both international and UK stakeholders in mind, so the Companies House changes are being watched closely. The aim is to improve the efficiency of financial services firms operating in the island,  via the introduction of accreditation for E-ID providers as well as the potential for shared E-ID.

Questions from the floor focused heavily on the Register of Overseas Entities. The discussion brought out that HMRC will be able to access information held on the register. Attendees also asked how high-profile individuals, or people connected to sensitive activities such as animal testing, can request special permission to keep their personal information off the public register.

Isle of Man, 20 October: our biggest turnout

The Isle of Man had the highest attendance of the three. That is no surprise. The island’s business community has spent the past year preparing for this month’s Moneyval evaluation, and compliance is front of mind.

There is change closer to home too. The Isle of Man registry’s digital identity verification provider has ceased trading. The original plan was to adopt the shared ID model, but we understand that approach will be reviewed as the contract goes back out to tender at the end of the year. Similar to the aim of Jersey, the registry is aiming to make it easier for both local and international persons to prove their identity via E-ID - thereby replacing the need for certified copies of passports and utility bills.

What every room had in common

Different regulators and different priorities, but the same takeaway. Identity verification is moving to the centre of how registries work, and firms that prepare now will be in a much stronger position than those who wait for the deadlines.

Want to know more?

If you would like to talk through what the changes mean for your business, get in touch with the Verify by Tiller team. And thank you to Liz and everyone at CRO Corporate Services, and to everyone who came along, asked questions and stayed to talk.

Left to right: Simon Gillmore, Senior Sales Executive; Jonathan Ripper, Head of Product; and Julia Cowan, Chief Revenue Officer, all Verify by Tiller; with Liz Kinsey, Managing Director, CRO Corporate Services.

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