Part 3 – Register of Overseas Entities Register of overseas entities Section 162: Registrable beneficial owners: nominees
This section means that where an overseas entity holds certain interests in land as a nominee for another person that person is treated as a registrable beneficial owner for the purposes of the register of overseas entities. It also deals with less direct relationships.
	This section amends Schedules 1 and 2 to the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 (the ECTE Act 2022) to ensure that an identified gap in coverage of the requirements is filled. The ECTE Act 2022 already requires most nominee relationships to be "looked through", with information about the person behind the nominee being provided. These changes mean that, where an overseas corporate nominee (which will itself be an overseas entity for the purposes of the ECTE Act 2022) holds land on behalf of someone else, it must provide information about the persons on whose behalf the land is held, for example, information about a linked trust. Without these amendments, the corporate trustee is required only to provide information about its own beneficial owners, who are not the people benefitting from the land.
	Subsection (2a) of this section amends Schedule 1, paragraph 3(1) (required information about individuals who are registrable beneficial owners) so that the overseas entity must also report whether the individual is a registrable beneficial owner by virtue of new paragraph 2(1) or 2(2) of Schedule 2. Where the individual is a registrable beneficial owner by virtue of paragraph 2(1) of Schedule 2, the overseas entity must provide information about why the individual is a registrable beneficial owner, and a statement about whether the condition that is met is met by virtue of the individual being a trustee of a trust. If the individual is a registrable beneficial owner by virtue of paragraph 2(2) of Schedule 2, a statement about which of the conditions listed in new paragraph 6A applies, and why, must be provided.
	Subsection 2(b) amends paragraph 4 of Schedule 1 to the ECTE Act 2022, to ensure that nominee relationships are captured where they relate to registrable beneficial owners that are governments and public authorities. Sub-section 2(c) similarly amends paragraph 5 of Schedule 1 (required information about other legal entities) so that where a registrable beneficial owner is a legal entity and is part of a nominee arrangement, the persons for whom the nominee is acting must be identified. As with the requirements for registrable beneficial owners who are individuals, information about which of the conditions in new paragraph 6A of Schedule 2 is met must be provided.
	Amendments are also made to Schedule 2 of the ECTE Act 2022. Subsection (3) amends the meaning of "registrable beneficial owner" in relation to individuals (sub-section 3(a)), legal entities (sub-section 3(b)) and governments and public authorities (sub-section 3(c)). In each case, the meaning is extended to include persons treated as beneficial owners where the entity owns land as a nominee.
	Subsection 3(d) inserts a new paragraph 6A into Schedule 2. This paragraph explains the conditions under which a person (X) should be treated as a beneficial owner of an overseas entity (Y) that holds land as a nominee. These conditions are outlined for, in turn, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. One of more of the conditions must be met.
	For England and Wales, Condition 1 sets out that to meet the condition, Y must be the registered proprietor of a qualifying estate within the meaning of Schedule 4A to the Land registration Act 2002, became so registered on or after 1 January 1999, and holds the qualifying estate as a nominee for X, or an entity of which X is the beneficial owner by virtue of paragraph 6 of Schedule 2. Paragraph 6 defines the meaning of "beneficial owner" for the purposes of the ECTE Act 2022.
	Condition 2 applies to land held in Scotland. Y must be the registered proprietor of a plot of land registered in the Land Register of Scotland, becoming the proprietor on or after 14 December 2014. Where Y is a tenant under a lease that begun before this date, the lease must have been subject to an assignation registered in the Land Register of Scotland on or after 8 December 2014, or be a lease first registered on or after that date. Y must also hold the interest in land as a nominee for X, or an entity of which X is a beneficial owner by virtue of paragraph 6 of Schedule 2, which defines the meaning of "beneficial owner" for the purposes of the ECTE Act 2022.
	Condition 3 applies to land held in Northern Ireland. Y must be registered in the register held by the Northern Ireland Land Registry as the owner of a qualifying estate within the meaning of Schedule 8A to the Land Registration Act (Northern Ireland) 1970 (c. 18 (N.I.)), becomes so registered on or after the date on which that Schedule came into force (5 September 2022) and hold the qualifying estate as a nominee for X, or an entity of which X is the beneficial owner by virtue of paragraph 6 of Schedule 2, which defines the meaning of "beneficial owner" for the purposes of the ECTE Act 2022.