Displaying items by tag: dirty money

Tom Tugendhat will chair a foreign affairs select committee to look into the Government’s apparent inability to crack down on money-laundering. Russian oligarchs’ use of London to launder their fortunes will come under renewed scrutiny. The Foreign Office is often accused of leaving a gap between its tough anti-Russian rhetoric and failure to control either money-laundering or those in the UK who enable the corruption. Foreigh secretary Liz Truss says the UK has some of the toughest anti-corruption laws in the world, but even in her short period in office she has been repeatedly challenged to review whether the laws are working effectively or adequately policed. The inquiry will follow up a previous investigation which found gaps in government anti-corruption armoury, warning, ‘Turning a blind eye to London’s role in hiding the proceeds of Kremlin-connected corruption risks signalling that the UK is not serious about confronting the full spectrum of Putin’s offensive measures.’

The UK is a hub for dirty money from global criminal activity - bribery, theft of state funds, misuse of public office. It is developed with the aid of companies incorporated in the UK and in its offshore financial centres and invested into luxury UK property, accessing prestigious institutions and privileged lifestyles. An estimated scale of dirty money entering the UK is more than tens of billions of pounds annually. Anonymous companies, where the true owner is hidden, make it difficult to detect the origins of their illicit wealth. The UK is failing to prevent companies registered here being used by money launderers. The secrecy afforded by UK companies - and those registered in offshore financial centres - is facilitating economic crime on a global scale. This must change.