BRITAIN-POLITICS/HOUSING Britain seeks to stop "dirty money" hiding in UK property market

Record ID: 145950

  • Title: BRITAIN-POLITICS/HOUSING Britain seeks to stop "dirty money" hiding in UK property market
  • Date: 28th July 2015
  • Summary: SINGAPORE (JULY 28, 2015) (REUTERS) BRITISH PRIME MINISTER, DAVID CAMERON, ARRIVING ON STAGE FOR SPEECH CAMERON SPEAKING AUDIENCE LISTENING TO CAMERON SPEECH PHOTOGRAPHER TAKING PHOTOS (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH PRIME MINISTER, DAVID CAMERON, SAYING: "With 122 billion pounds of property in England and Wales owned by offshore companies, we know that some high properties, particularly in London, are being bought by people overseas through anonymous shell companies, some of them with plundered or laundered cash." CAMERON SPEAKING CAMERAMAN FILMING (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH PRIME MINISTER, DAVID CAMERON, SAYING: "I'm determined that the UK must not become a safe haven for corrupt money from around the world, we need to stop corrupt officials or organised criminals using anonymous shell companies to invest their ill-gotten gains in London property without being tracked down." CAMERON SPEAKING AUDIENCE MEMBERS LISTENING TO SPEECH (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITISH PRIME MINISTER, DAVID CAMERON, SAYING: "So let me be clear, the vast majority of foreign owned businesses that invest in property in the UK are entirely legitimate and proper and have nothing to hide at all, they are welcomed in Britain, indeed I want more of them, we are the most open and welcoming economies anywhere in the world, and I want Britain to be that country, but I want to ensure that all this money is clean money. There is no place for dirty money in Britain. Indeed there should be no place for dirty money anywhere, that is my message to foreign fraudsters, London is not a place to stash your dodgy cash." AUDIENCE MEMBER LISTENING TO SPEECH AUDIENCE APPLAUDING CAMERON CAMERON WALKING ON STAGE
  • Embargoed: 12th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Singapore
  • Country: Singapore
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA8HPIHD7MWG15KQ0UFIOF7L52P
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: British Prime Minister David Cameron vowed on Tuesday (July 28) to clampdown on the use of "dirty money" to buy up expensive properties, promising to expose the owners of anonymous foreign shell companies hiding cash in London's buoyant housing market.
    Cameron, speaking in Singapore on a regional trade visit, said the promise was part of anti-corruption efforts to ensure that Britain did not become a "safe haven for corrupt money from around the world".
    "With 122 billion pounds of property in England and Wales owned by offshore companies, we know that some high properties, particularly in London, are being bought by people overseas through anonymous shell companies, some of them with plundered or laundered cash," he said during a speech at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
    He announced that a central registry of land and properties owned by foreign firms would be set up in the coming months, giving details of who owns around 100,000 property titles.
    "I'm determined that the UK must not become a safe haven for corrupt money from around the world, we need to stop corrupt officials or organised criminals using anonymous shell companies to invest their ill-gotten gains in London property without being tracked down," he said.
    "So let me be clear, the vast majority of foreign owned businesses that invest in property in the UK are entirely legitimate and proper and have nothing to hide at all, they are welcomed in Britain, indeed I want more of them, we are the most open and welcoming economies anywhere in the world, and I want Britain to be that country, but I want to ensure that all this money is clean money. There is no place for dirty money in Britain. Indeed there should be no place for dirty money anywhere, that is my message to foreign fraudsters, London is not a place to stash your dodgy cash," he added.
    Cameron also said the government was considering implementing rules to force foreign firms wishing to bid on government contracts to provide full details on their ownership structure.
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