February 28, 2022 - We welcome the news that legislation will now be introduced to Parliament to tackle dirty money from Russian oligarchs and other corrupt elites. We have been campaigning for this for seven years, and it was a commitment the government first made six years ago. It is urgently needed in order to stem the tide of dirty money which finds its way to the UK every year.

Research by Transparency International UK has found £1.5 billion worth of UK property which has been bought by Russians accused of corruption or with links to the Kremlin.

Most of this property is held by secretive offshore companies which prevent the UK government, police and the public from knowing who really owns them. Nearly 90,000 properties in the UK are owned in this way, so those that have been identified are the tip of the iceberg.

Duncan Hames, Director of Policy at Transparency International UK said,

“Unmasking the true owners behind the secretive companies use to buy British real estate should be a major advance in tackling money laundering here. We will study the details as MPs begin to debate these proposals. It is important the new legislation leaves the corrupt or those evading sanctions nowhere to hide their wealth.

“But for these reforms to truly bite, the new law needs to take effect as soon as possible and more resources will be needed for law enforcement to pursue suspect wealth.

“Encouragingly this announcement is among a number of moves by major economies including the US acting in concert as part of a trans-Atlantic commitment to enforce sanctions and pursue illicit assets.“