Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010

Beneficial owner in relation to trusts.

28.— (1) In this section, “trust” means a trust that administers and distributes funds.

(2) In this Part, “ beneficial owner ”, in relation to a trust, means any of the following:

(a) any individual who is entitled to a vested interest in possession, remainder or reversion, whether or not the interest is defeasible, in at least 25 per cent of the capital of the trust property;

(b) in the case of a trust other than one that is set up or operates entirely for the benefit of individuals referred to in paragraph (a), the class of individuals in whose main interest the trust is set up or operates;

(c) any individual who has control over the trust.

(3) For the purposes of and without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2), an individual who is the beneficial owner of a body corporate that—

(a) is entitled to a vested interest of the kind referred to in subsection (2)(a), or

(b) has control over the trust,

is taken to be entitled to the vested interest or to have control over the trust (as the case may be).

(4) Except as provided by subsection (5), in this section “control”, in relation to a trust, means a power (whether exercisable alone, jointly with another person or with the consent of another person) under the trust instrument concerned or by law to do any of the following:

(a) dispose of, advance, lend, invest, pay or apply trust property;

(b) vary the trust;

(c) add or remove a person as a beneficiary or to or from a class of beneficiaries;

(d) appoint or remove trustees;

(e) direct, withhold consent to or veto the exercise of any power referred to in paragraphs (a) to (d).

(5) For the purposes of the definition of “ control” in subsection (4), an individual does not have control solely as a result of the power exercisable collectively at common law to vary or extinguish a trust where the beneficiaries under the trust are at least 18 years of age, have full capacity and (taken together) are absolutely entitled to the property to which the trust applies.