British homes 'bought up by dirty money'
Estate agents are struggling to enforce anti-money laundering regulations, research suggests
British property has long been popular among international investors, but a new report suggests that homes across the UK are in danger of becoming a "haven for dirty money".
More than £122bn dollars worth of property in England and Wales is held by companies registered in off-shore tax havens, the Financial Times has revealed.
The findings underline fears that British housing in general, and London property in particular, "has become a haven for dirty money from around the world," the FT says.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Property is a key risk area for the UK," Robert Barrington, executive director of Transparency International UK, told the paper. "From Abacha to Marcos and the Gaddafis, corrupt leaders have used shell companies and trusts to hide their identities and safeguard stolen fortunes, often in property."
The findings also reveal the full scale of offshore property ownership. Nearly two thirds of the 91,248 foreign-company-owned properties in England and Wales are linked to the British Virgin Islands and Channel Islands, the report said. The majority of such property is in London, and 27 per cent by value can be found in Westminster alone.
Regulations designed to prevent money laundering oblige estate agents and solicitors to carry out due diligence when making a sale. But while land registry records can identify the company holding a property, it can be difficult to determine who is the ultimate owner.
"When you have a company hidden offshore, it is I think almost impossible for your average estate agent to find out what on earth is going on," says Peter Bolton King, global residential director at Rics. "You have to make a professional judgment whether you are satisfied with the information that you are provided with."
The FT report notes that the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi's son Saadi owned a "trophy house" in central London valued at £10m, and that one of the most prized houses in London – Witanhurst, a 65-room mansion overlooking Hampstead Heath – is also owned by an offshore consortium registered in the British Virgin Islands.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Harriet Tubman made a general 161 years after raid
Speed Read She was the first woman to oversee an American military action during a time of war
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Chappell Roan is a new kind of boundary-setting celebrity
In the Spotlight She's calling out fans and the media for invasive behavior
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Saudi crown prince slams Israeli 'genocide' in Gaza
Speed Read Mohammed bin Salman has condemned Israel’s actions
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Labour shortages: the ‘most urgent problem’ facing the UK economy right now
Speed Read Britain is currently in the grip of an ‘employment crisis’
By The Week Staff Published
-
Will the energy war hurt Europe more than Russia?
Speed Read European Commission proposes a total ban on Russian oil
By The Week Staff Published
-
Will Elon Musk manage to take over Twitter?
Speed Read The world’s richest man has launched a hostile takeover bid worth $43bn
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Shoppers urged not to buy into dodgy Black Friday deals
Speed Read Consumer watchdog says better prices can be had on most of the so-called bargain offers
By The Week Staff Published
-
Ryanair: readying for departure from London
Speed Read Plans to delist Ryanair from the London Stock Exchange could spell ‘another blow’ to the ‘dwindling’ London market
By The Week Staff Published
-
Out of fashion: Asos ‘curse’ has struck again
Speed Read Share price tumbles following the departure of CEO Nick Beighton
By The Week Staff Published
-
Universal Music’s blockbuster listing: don’t stop me now…
Speed Read Investors are betting heavily that the ‘boom in music streaming’, which has transformed Universal’s fortunes, ‘still has a long way to go’
By The Week Staff Published
-
EasyJet/Wizz: battle for air supremacy
Speed Read ‘Wizz’s cheeky takeover bid will have come as a blow to the corporate ego’
By The Week Staff Published