NAIROBI – The United Kingdom government is facing sharp criticism from parliamentarians and anti-corruption advocates for permitting the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and other overseas territories to limit access to registers of company owners, a move that experts warn could hamper Kenya's efforts to combat illicit financial flows (IFF). The policy shift comes just ahead of a major global anti-corruption summit scheduled for 2026, raising questions about the UK's commitment to financial transparency.

At talks that commenced in London on Tuesday, 25 November 2025, Foreign Office ministers and leaders of British Overseas Territories (BOTs) are discussing the implementation of beneficial ownership registers. However, jurisdictions like the BVI and the Cayman Islands are being allowed to establish registers accessible only to those with a “legitimate interest,” rather than making them fully public as legislated under the UK's Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2018. This 2018 law mandated the establishment of public registers by the end of 2020.

For Kenya, the implications are significant. The country is estimated to lose approximately KES 194.8 billion ($1.51 billion) annually to IFFs, which include corruption, tax evasion, and trade mis-invoicing, according to a 2025 report by Transparency International Kenya. Africa as a continent loses an estimated $88.6 billion each year to these outflows, a figure that surpasses the total official development assistance it receives.

Secrecy jurisdictions like the BVI are critical nodes in the global network that facilitates these outflows. The Tax Justice Network's 2024 Corporate Tax Haven Index ranked the British Virgin Islands first for its role in helping multinational corporations underpay taxes. Furthermore, the 2021 Pandora Papers investigation revealed how prominent Kenyan families have used companies in the BVI and other tax havens to hold assets, including one portfolio valued at over $30 million. While not evidence of wrongdoing, these revelations underscore the role of such jurisdictions in shielding wealth from public scrutiny.

A cross-party group of UK parliamentarians has voiced strong opposition to the government's perceived leniency. An All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax, in a letter coordinated by MP Phil Brickell, urged ministers to enforce the long-promised transparency measures. The letter described the ongoing Joint Ministerial Council as the “last chance” to address corruption vulnerabilities before the UK hosts the Global Illicit Finance Summit next year. The summit was announced by the former Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, as part of a campaign to position the UK as a global leader against dirty money.

The overseas territories have resisted fully public registers, citing a 2022 European Court of Justice ruling on privacy rights. They have instead moved towards a “legitimate interest” model, which anti-corruption groups argue can be restrictive and hinder investigative journalism and civil society oversight. Transparency International UK recently gave the BVI and Bermuda a failing grade for the lack of accessibility of their registers.

The UK government maintains that the legitimate interest model is an interim step towards full public access and that it is providing assistance to the territories to establish the registers. Several territories, including Anguilla, the BVI, and the Cayman Islands, committed to implementing these registers by June 2025. However, campaigners argue that years of delays have already passed a voluntary deadline of the end of 2023, undermining the urgency of the anti-corruption agenda.

As Kenyan authorities work to trace and recover assets lost to IFFs, the level of transparency in major financial centres like the BVI is crucial. The decisions made in London this week will directly impact the effectiveness of those efforts and signal the strength of the global commitment to ending the financial secrecy that enables corruption and drains vital resources from developing economies.