A 2020 government report said “corrupt foreign elites continue to be attracted to the UK property market, especially in London, to disguise their corruption proceeds.” The economic crime bill was recently put before the Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee, chaired by leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg, as a contender for the Queen’s Speech in May which will set the legislative agenda for the 2022-23 parliamentary session.
Tory MPs have urged PM Boris Johnson to revive a long-awaited economic crime bill - designed to crack down on the flow of dirty money to the UK - after the legislation was hit by further delays.
According to John Penrose, the government’s anti-corruption champion, the prime minister should accelerate the bill to send out a signal to Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, over Ukraine. He added “London’s financial markets are a huge economic asset, but they’re also magnets for dirty cash and, with Russian troops on the border of Ukraine, Putin will be looking for any signs of weakness that we aren’t serious about threats to sanction his oligarchs.”
The bill was expected to include crucial reform of Companies House to crack down on the abuse of shell companies as well as powers to unmask the real owners of offshore companies that own UK property and tougher powers to challenge kleptocrats’ unexplained wealth. The reforms have won cross-party support owing to widespread concerns about the £100bn in dirty money that the National Crime Agency estimated has been channeled through the UK from countries, including Russia, and the rise in fraud related to Covid-19 state support.
