No Police or COPFS action over transparency offences
Regular readers of this blog will be aware of the efforts that Alan Brown and myself have made to ensure that people who flout transparency rules are held accountable table before the law. You can read the key blogs here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
BACKGROUND
The Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Persons in Land (RCI) was established under Part 3 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 with the relevant regulations passed by the Scottish Parliament in February 2021 and coming into force on 1 April 2022.
The RCI regulations require certain entities such as unincorporated associations, partnerships and overseas entities to submit details of the entity and any persons (termed associates) who exercise control over the entity. The Register can be searched here. To see it in action, enter “Cluny Estates Limited” in the search box and follow the links to find the associate (State of Qatar).
Section 10 of the Regulations requires such entities to submit details of the entity (termed a “recorded person” in the legislation) and any associates. Section 10(8) makes clear that failure to do so is an offence and any person committing such an offence is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding Level 5 on the standard scale (currently £5000).
When the Register was established in April 2022, the then Environment and Land Reform Minister, Màiri McAllan said:
“The launch of this new register marks a significant milestone in making land ownership in Scotland more transparent. I want to ensure that there can no longer be categories of landowner or tenant where, intentionally or otherwise, control of decision-making is obscured, including in or via overseas trusts or entities.
“Scotland has a long history of land reform and this journey to make the ownership and use of our land and assets fairer marches on.
“The new register will make Scotland a frontrunner in Europe and deliver greater transparency than any other part of the UK. It enables the public to look behind land ownership and identify those who ultimately make decisions.”
FIRST REPORTS OF NON COMPLIANCE
As set out in previous blogs, Alan Brown and myself each submitted a complaint to the Police in relation to failures to register in the RCI by the owners of Craiganour Estate and North Glenbuchat Estate. Earlier this year, Police confirmed that they had submitted a report on each case to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS).
Yesterday (2 June 2026) I asked the COPFS for any update on these reports. A spokesperson said that,
“The Procurator Fiscal received reports concerning a 62-year-old man and a company in connection with alleged offences between April 2024 and June 2025.
“After full and careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of these cases, the Procurator Fiscal concluded that there should be no criminal proceedings.
“We reserve the right to proceed in the future should further evidence become available.”
I asked COPFS which entity this related to and was told that it concerns both the complaints over Craiganour and North Glenbuchat Estate.
So having made complaints to Police which involved hours of our time including schooling the Police on the Regulations and the nature of the offences, the COPFS has declined to take any action. We don’t know why since details of prosecution decisions are not made public. It may be that one of the complaints is out of time (summary proceedings need to be initiated within six months of an offence). The other complaint (North Glenbuchat) did retrospectively register after being alerted to their non-compliance and the Procurator Fiscal may have therefore concluded that it was thus not in the public interest to initiate criminal proceedings (despite an offence still having been committed). But I do not and cannot know the rationale for the decision.
SECOND REPORTS OF NON COMPLIANCE
Having given the Police time to work out what to do with the initial two complaints and a report having been submitted to the COPFS, I made a further ten complaints in April 2026 about ten other owners who had failed to make the required registration.
After being interviewed by Police and explaining once more about the regulations, the nature of the offence, and the evidence for non-compliance, I awaited further developments.
On 30 May 2026, I received the following email
“I am writing to you in response to the report you made to Police Scotland on 15/04/2026 regarding the landowning entity of the Ben Alder Estate, Dalwhinnie, not being compliant with the Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land (RCI).
“The matter has been reviewed, and a Crime Report was raised (CR/0160810/26).
“Having considered the available evidence and liaising with the Registers of Scotland, it has been determined that no further Police action will be taken in relation to this matter.
“This decision has been made on the basis that the information concerned appears to be available through other public sources or realms, and therefore the circumstances reported are unlikely to constitute a criminal offence.
“Should any further evidence or relevant information come to light, the matter may be re-considered.
“Thank you again for bringing this matter to our attention.”
To be clear, Agro Invest Overseas Limited is registered in Guernsey and is the owner of a 75% pro indivisible share of Ben Alder Estate. No entry has been made in the RCI and thus an offence has been committed.
It is unclear why Police Scotland has decided not to take any further action though it appears that the reason may be that they have decided that the information required to be registered in the RCI is available elsewhere. Related information has indeed been submitted to the Register of Overseas Entities, a separate register established by Part 1 of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022.
The information recorded there contains no details on who the beneficial owners of Agro Invest Overseas are. In any event, whether or not similar information can be found elsewhere is irrelevant and is not a legal basis for being exempt from the RCI regulations (any exemptions are set out in Schedule 2 of the regulations and do not include any that apply to Agro invest Overseas Limited).
And so I replied to the mail above as follows
“Thank you for this update.
“Agro Invest Overseas limited has still not registered any recorded persons in the RCI. Failure to do so is an offence under paragraph 10(8) of the regulations.
“Before taking this further, I have the following questions.
- Does Police Scotland believe that Agro Invest Overseas Limited has complied with its obligations under Section 10 of the regulations?
- What “other pubic sources or realms” contain the relevant information that should be registered in the RCI?
- Given the offence set out in paragraph 10(8), why is the failure to register under Section 10 of the Regulations considered “unlikely to constitute a criminal offence” when the offence is a simple failure to register in the RCI?
- On what legal basis does Police Scotland consider that the relevant information being available through “other pubic sources or realms” means that failure to register is “therefore” unlikely to constitute a criminal offence?
- Does Police Scotland believe that the exemption in Section 10(2) applies? If so, which section of Schedule 2 applies?”
In response I was informed that the relevant crime report has been sent to a police officer in Dalwhinnie who will respond to my questions in due course.
CONCLUSION
There are still nine outstanding complaints for Police Scotland to deal with and I have over 200 more ready to send them which would realise over £1.3 million in fines if prosecuted.
But for the moment, I am disappointed that the COPFS has decided to do nothing about the first 2 complaints and that Police Scotland are not going to take any further action on one of the remaining ten complaints. Without a police report to the COPFS, no prosecution will be possible unless I decide to embark upon a private prosecution. I await news of those other nine.
If this is to be the pattern of action by the COPFS and the Police, then the Regulations are essentially voluntary and Màiri McAllan’s ambitions set out in 2022 are meaningless.
What is the point of Parliament passing Regulations to create greater transparency and moreover creating criminal sanctions if a) the COPFS take no action when faced with evidence of offences and b) Police Scotland decline to take any further action for reasons that are as yet unclear?
Thank you, Andy and Alan Brown for pursuing this on our behalf. If there is any action that you would wish me / us to take, please just say.
You could drop a quick email to your newly-elected MSPs but maybe hold off til beginning of next week as further news is coming.
A police officer in Dalwhinnie?
Yes, that is what I have been told. I guess becuase Police think this is something to do with the geographical location of the estate though the enetity that is non compliant is in Guernsey.
Andy
Is it possible a document signed by Scots concerned about the outcome of complaints re land crimes submitted by you …with apparently no action taken by Police… be sent to MsMcAllan/Police or land owners. It might be of use if the Government/Police and hidden investors become aware of a growing interest by the Scottish PUBLIC on what is happening to land ownership in Scotland especially if laws are being flouted.. ..always tricky for the Government/ Police if they come under scrutiny.
Or we could send emails to MsMcAllan asking for further details on who owns our land..who is breaking our land… laws..pointed out by you.. and why the Police give no real reason for taking no action…. and what she intends to do about it. Interestingly the Chief of Police Scotland is the englishwoman Jo Farrell ..who was criticised for charging Scottish tax payers for her taxi back home to Northumberland..she called it ‘an error of judgement!’ Is she involved in deciding who is breaking Scotland’s land laws and whether further action should be taken?
Thank you for your VERY hard work. I am sure those concerned about our land would assist in any way they can.
If you have a big army of Scots at your back also asking difficult questions it might make authorities more accountable and careful in their responses.
Scotland thanks you for all your non stop work .
For OUR Scotland and her weans.
Thanks Andy for keeping up your good work, it was nice to meet you all these ago when I was pressganned to show you how ROS records worked. Is Alan B my old workmate from ROS?
You have a long memory. I am still learning. No, this Aln B has never to my knowledge worked in RoS.