London, 28 July - Transparency International UK welcomes the commitment from the Prime Minister to make it much harder for corrupt wealth to be laundered through the UK.

In a speech this morning, in Singapore, the Prime Minister will announce a move towards transparency to reveal who owns the companies that buy so much UK property and bid for UK Government contracts.

Nick Maxwell, Head of Advocacy and Research, Transparency International UK said:

“With this announcement, the UK Government is taking significant steps towards tackling the scourge of corrupt money that is stolen from around the world and laundered into the UK through secret companies. The PM has rightly identified the secrecy behind company ownership as a simple tool for money launderers. An end to secret offshore company in ownership of UK property and in UK procurement can help shift the UK from being a safe-haven for illicit wealth to a place where dirty money is not welcome.

“The detail of implementation in the UK will be important, but the key now is for other G20 governments to step up to the plate and consider similar provisions. The UK is leading by example, but many loopholes still exist for the corrupt to launder money in other markets. Transparency should be the new norm of international resources-resources-business. It is also important that the UK addresses domestic corruption risks, including cleaning up politics and ensuring the UK’s anti-bribery legislation is not watered down.”

Requiring that foreign corporate owners of property meet the same transparency standards as UK companies was first recommended in the TI-UK ‘Corruption on Your Doorstep’ paper. You can read more about this here

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