Time to stop the money laundering

A report by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales concluded at the beginning of this year that London has become a “money-laundering haven. They highlighted contributing factors such as “golden visas” – which granted fast-track residency to foreign entrepreneurs investing at least £2 million in UK projects but were later scrapped in 2022 – and a buoyant property market in London coupled with low regulations.

Transparency International estimates that £1.1 billion worth of properties in London are owned by individuals tied up in money laundering. Now, leading political campaigners have said that the UK’s offshore financial centres must fall in behind plans to stop “dirty money” by publishing registers of corporate ownership, as the UK Government seeks to reverse this trend:

Labour’s Dame Margaret Hodge and the Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell hit out at “dither and delay”, ahead of this week’s summit between UK government officials and overseas territories, such as the British Virgin Islands (BVIs) and Cayman Islands, in London.

In an editorial for the Guardian, they accuse overseas territories and crown dependencies, such as Jersey and the Isle of Man, of trying to water down or ward off measures designed to counteract money laundering and other illicit transactions.

“We know all too well that the overseas territories and crown dependencies play a pivotal role in helping crooks and tax dodgers launder and hide their dirty money,” Hodge and Mitchell said.

“Dirty money underpins corruption, crime and conflict. It causes immense harm at home and abroad, enabling serious and organised crime and diverting resources needed for vital public services.

“Public registers, and the scrutiny that they bring, are the best antidote to the scourge of illicit finance.”

Mitchell and Hodge are understood to have corralled support from dozens of MPs across the political spectrum to ramp up the pressure before the joint ministerial council. The two-day event starts on Wednesday.

“We must stop the dither and delay of recent years and pierce the veil of anonymity that protects criminals and kleptocrats,” they said.

The duo accused offshore centres of reneging on a promise to introduce public registers by December 2023.

A key point of contention is whether the registers would be open to everyone or only those with “legitimate interests”, such as anti-corruption campaign groups.

Some overseas territories are opposed to fully open registers and British lobbyists have been working with them in an effort to persuade the government to accept a “legitimate interest” compromise.

The UK has acted as a refuge for this sort of activity for too long. The government must do everything it can to change this and use what powers and influence they have to make the overseas territories follow suit.