Cameron warns on money laundering
July 28, 2015
In excerpts released from a speech due to be given in Singapore on Tuesday, Cameron highlighted concerns that British properties, mainly in London, "are being bought by people overseas through anonymous shell companies, some with plundered or laundered cash."
"The UK must not become a safe haven for corrupt money from around the world," he is to say in his speech, according to the "Guardian" newspaper.
"There is no place for dirty money in Britain. Indeed, there should be no place for dirty money anywhere."
More than 36,000 properties in London are owned by offshore companies, and overseas firms have more than 100,000 property titles in Britain registered to their name.
Rising property prices
The British Land Registry is to begin making information on what property deeds are held by overseas companies easily accessible to the public for the first time in fall of this year. The government will also consult on how to make property ownership by foreign companies more transparent.
Cameron's comments come amid concerns that corrupt money might be a factor in rising property prices in Britain.
The standards monitoring group Transparency International has welcomed the steps proposed by Cameron.
Such moves toward increased transparency "can help shirt the UK from being a safe haven for illicit wealth to a place where dirty money is not welcome," said Nick Maxwell, Transparency's head of advocacy and research.
tj/jil (AFP)