TI-UK’s paper Improving the UK’s Trust Registration Service urges expanding the TRS’s scope and data access to expose hidden ownership in UK property and close loopholes enabling ML through opaque trusts

The report highlights that the Trust Registration Service (TRS) under HM Revenue & Customs remains ineffective in tackling hidden ownership in UK property via trusts, citing examples of at least £2.5 billion held through trust structures. It recommends reforms to broaden registration (including trusts acquiring property before October 2020 and overseas trusts holding UK assets) and to allow more meaningful public access to TRS data, in line with the Sixth Anti‑Money Laundering Directive standard…