UPDATE – Glenbuchat and Craiganour Estate Transparency
This blog provides an update on the two previous ones in relation to determining the beneficial ownership of two companies –
North Glen Estates Ltd, registered in the Turks and Caicos Islands, which owns North Glenbuchat Estate in Aberdeenshire, and,
Astel Ltd. registered in Jersey which owns Craiganour Estate in Perthshire.
North Glen Estates Ltd.
Following my complaint to Police Scotland about the alleged failure of North Glen Estates Ltd. to register its beneficial owner as required to under the Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land, I received a very prompt reply with an Incident Number and a message to say that a Police Officer would arrange a time to discuss this with me. In the course of making those arrangements a Police Officer from the North Resolution Team asserted that the first point of contact should be the Scottish Land Commission (SLC). I disputed this on the basis that it has no locus in relation to the investigation of criminal offences. Nevertheless, I wrote to the SLC who replied to the effect that it has no role in this matter. I communicated this to the North Resolution team and am now awaiting an appointment with a Police Officer to be interviewed on the matter.
Craiganour Estate
The second blog is a guest blog from Alan Brown narrating his attempts to lodge a complaint about the failure of Astel Ltd. to make a declaration in there Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land.
Subsequent to the publication of the blog, a number of people have been in touch to question whether in fact Astel is required to make a declaration. Under the RCIL regulations, there are certain exemptions in place for entities that are subject to other transparency regimes (set out in Schedule 2). These include, for example, charities who are already required to make disclosures under charity law.
They also include all companies “incorporated under the Companies Act”. The Explanatory Notes (paras 158 and 159) make clear that companies that are required to report to the “Persons of Significant Control” register are not required to make an entry in the RCIL. [1]
Astel Ltd. has two entries in the Register of Companies held by Companies House.
The first entry for Astel Ltd. is as Company No. SF000230.
SF000230 denotes an overseas entity that has a place of business in Scotland or a branch of an overseas company. Such entities are been required to submit specified information to Companies House and Astel Ltd. has done so since 1986. They are not, however, required to submit a PSC return and are not UK Companies under the Companies Act 2006.
Astel Ltd. (SF000230) is therefore not exempt for the purposes of the RCIL Regulations as set out in Schedule 2 of the Regulations.
The second entry for Astel Ltd. is interesting and reflects a comment made by Alan Brown in his blog on Craiganour where he asked a Mr Benford who acts (or acted) as an agent for Astel Ltd. whether the Company was going to make an RCIL registration.
“…he suggested that the registration process was underway after some confusion between English and Scots law and that “all will soon be revealed”, something which may or may not be true.”
It turns out that Astel did in fact make a declaration in the Register of Overseas Entities (ROE) established under Part I of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022. The company is registered No. OE033616.
The ROE came into force on 1 August 2022 and requires the registration (with Companies House) of the beneficial owners of overseas companies that own land in the UK. The overseas owner of any land acquired after 8 December 2014 must register. Astel Ltd. acquired Craiganour in 1977 and thus there is no requirement to make such an entry in the ROE.
Nevertheless, an entry was made on 4 February 2025. Such overseas entities are not required to make a PSC declaration as such but do have to disclose the beneficial owner of the company (in similar terms fo the PSC regime). The declaration shows that two British Virgin Islands companies together with a UK company exercise control over Astel Ltd.as well as a François Moran, a Canadian lawyer, who has “significant control” over a trust that controls Astel Ltd.
It is doubtful if Mr Moran is in fact the person behind Astel Ltd. He just administers the three companies that controls Astel Ltd. Evidence for this comes from the fact that he is also named as a person with significant control over Rattray Estates Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Rattray Estate Holdings Ltd. (thought to be registered in Jersey) which owns the 1000 ha Rattray Estate near Peterhead. Rattray Estate Holdings Ltd. is ultimately controlled from the British Virgin Islands.
Mr Moran is a Canadian lawyer who looks after other people’s affairs.
Does the entry in the ROE make Astel Ltd. exempt from registering with the RCIL?
In short, no.
The 2021 RCIL Regulations are silent on the question of overseas entities who come under the ROE Regulations because they were introduced over a year after the RCIL was enacted.
In addition, even although Scottish Ministers did not wish to have double reporting, an entry in the ROE does not remove the obligation to register with RCIL as set out in this guidance from the Registers of Scotland.
“It’s important to note that in the meantime overseas entities that are in scope of RCI must register irrespective of ROE and make arrangements to comply with RCI legislation.”
In conclusion, Astel Ltd. is required to register with the RCIL.
It has so far failed to do so.
Failure to do so is a criminal offence.
NOTES
[1] The PSC was established in 2016 and applies to all UK companies. It was introduced to help combat money laundering and illicit financial transactions.
Why is the Scottish Government not following up RUTHLESSLY on this. Why is Scotland’s land parcelled out to hidden ‘investors’ who are totally reluctant to creep out from their dark corners and identify themselves. What will happen to these ‘hidden owners’ if its found they have broken the law. A slap on the wrist.?.a derisory fine? or as I would prefer Scotland’s land taken off them.
Excellent detective work for Scotland by you. Is this being reported in ‘the National’ because it certainly won’t be exposed in the foreign english centric media. They are part of the problem. I am sure there will be many Scots interested in how our land appears to be passed around between anybody but Scots. These morons have no real interest in Scotland’s land and its wildlife but merely as a means to make money. Meantime the Scots are crammed into small areas leaving so called ‘aristocrats’, investors and foreigners to treat our country as part of their investment portfolio. An old Chinese guy on television said…’your land is your treasure’. How come he knows and we don’t.
Scotland is lucky having you on guard. Thank you. (Read Alan Brown’s blog…..brilliant)
Cathy,please advise which Alan Brown’s blog you are referring to?
The oen linked to in this blog https://andywightman.scot/2025/05/craiganour-estate-has-got-away-with-a-criminal-offence/
A law which cannot be enforced is an ass. Those law officers who fail to do their duties are asses as well.
How many asinine laws has Scotgov passed? Far too many, it just likes to be seen to be doing something and sod the results.
Well done on pursuing these.
Why have the politicians made this so complicated. There must be an easier way to ensure that all owners of land in Scotland’s irrespective of acreage or part there of are registered and require FULL disclosure of who the named and beneficial owners are. There should be no hiding behind shell companies registered out with Scotland that our enforcement agencies have no access to or control over. This is just paying lip service to the people of Scotland whilst pandering to Scottish land owners who feel they are fully entitled to hide in the dark and take whats not theirs but in face belongs to the people of SCOTLAND.