Overseas nationals, including, oligarchs and kleptocrats, will no longer be able to hide their ownership of property in the UK through companies based in overseas territories, the business secretary confirmed this week, but he has still not given a date for when the change would be introduced.

In a move brought forward by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kwasi Kwarteng said there would be a register showing the ultimate beneficial ownership of foreign-owned UK properties – the idea was first put forward under David Cameron.

The Economic Crime and Transparency and Enforcement Bill would require anonymous foreign owners of UK property to reveal their real identities, with a view to preventing criminals hiding behind shell companies.

Those who do not declare a “beneficial owner” will face restrictions on selling their property and could even face up to five years in prison.

The Register of Overseas Entities will apply retrospectively to property bought by overseas owners up to 20 years ago in England and Wales and from December 2014 in Scotland. The register will be held by Companies House with support from the UK’s Land Registries.

Ahead of the introduction of the Economic Crime Bill, Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark, is keen to point out that the trade body called on the UK government to introduce a public register of overseas entities owning property in the UK back in 2018, adding that “it is high time that legislation has been brought forward”.

He commented: “Despite repeated promises, including being mentioned in the December 2019 Queen’s Speech, the UK Government failed to deliver. However recent events serve as a reminder that property is a high-risk sector for money laundering because any foreign company can buy property in the UK without having a presence in the country. Criminal funds can be concealed and made to look legitimate through an untraceable ‘company’ and subsequently the purchasing of property. When agents try to determine the true, or ‘beneficial’ owners, they find only documents listing shell companies.

“To maintain integrity in our housing market it is vital to know who the ultimate owner of a property is and it is imperative that the register is set up as soon as possible. The longer we wait for the register, the longer corrupt individuals will be able to use the UK property market to hide their wealth.”

Boris Johnson tells Putin’s backers in the UK, ‘there will be nowhere to hide’