The Isle of Man government opened a consultation on proposals to extend access to the Isle of Man’s beneficial ownership register to “persons who can demonstrate a legitimate interest in accessing beneficial ownership information for the purposes of preventing, detecting, or investigating money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing”.
The proposals follow a joint commitment by the three Crown Dependencies – the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey – In December 2023 to enhance access to beneficial ownership information, with appropriate safeguards in place to protect privacy and personal safety. This outlined a plan to enhance transparency in line with the direction set by the European Union (EU) under the Sixth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD6), which is due to be transposed by EU Member States later this year.
The Isle of Man Central Registry is seeking feedback on how a legitimate interest framework could be introduced in a way that is effective, proportionate and operationally workable, and that reflects the Island’s legal framework and evolving standards in respect of access to beneficial ownership information. Key proposals within the consultation include:
- Introducing an application-based ‘legitimate interest’ access route, assessed case-by-case by the Central Registry.
- Defining the ‘interest test’ (legitimate purpose and necessity) and evidential requirements for applications.
- Setting the scope of information that may be disclosed where access is approved, limited to what is necessary and proportionate.
- Establishing safeguards and controls, including exemptions from disclosure in specified circumstances and restrictions on use.
“Beneficial ownership transparency is a cornerstone of global efforts to combat illicit finance. Transparency is embedded in the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the international anti-money laundering watchdog,” said Kerry Scholes, Managing Director of Sovereign Trust (Isle of Man).
“Ensuring that the Isle of Man’s approach continues to align with evolving international standards is critical to maintaining the island’s reputation as a well-regulated international finance centre. The EU’s anti-money laundering policy committee MONEYVAL is to begin a mutual evaluation of the Isle of Man in September and will be looking closely at the jurisdiction’s progress in increasing beneficial ownership transparency.”
Officers across Isle of Man government continue to liaise with officers of the governments of Jersey and Guernsey, as well as the UK Home Office. Jersey launched a corresponding consultation last November and Guernsey in February 2026.
The details of each jurisdictions’ proposals vary depending on specific definitions of legitimate purpose and necessity, the evidential requirements for applications, limiting disclosure to what is necessary and proportionate, and appropriate safeguards, controls and exemptions to protect privacy and personal safety.
“These proposals are exploratory in nature”, said the Isle of Man government. “Their purpose is to examine how access could be structured in the future and to identify further considerations that would need to be addressed before any decision is taken on the most effective means of enhancing transparency.”
The Isle of Man’s consultation is a first step to gather views from industry. The consultation, which is being managed by the Department of Enterprise, will close on 30 June. After the consultation closes, the Department will review all responses received and a summary of consultation responses will be made available by the end of 2026.
