Prime Minister David Cameron is hosting a major international anti-corruption summit to step up global action to expose, punish and drive out corruption in all walks of life.
The PM will announce that foreign companies that own property in the UK will be forced to make public who really owns them.
Any foreign company that wants to buy UK property or bid for central government contracts here will have to join a new public register of beneficial ownership information before they can do so. This will be the first register of its kind anywhere in the world.
Crucially, it will include companies who already own property in the UK, not just those wishing to buy. Foreign companies own around 100,000 properties in England and Wales. Over 44,000 of these are in London.
The new register for foreign companies will mean corrupt individuals and countries will no longer be able to move, launder and hide illicit funds through London’s property market, and will not benefit from our public funds.
The Summit will also see Nigeria, Afghanistan, Italy, Jordan and Argentina commit to taking the initial step towards similar action.
Speaking on the day of the Summit, the Prime Minister said:
“The evil of corruption reaches into every corner of the world. It lies at the heart of the most urgent problems we face – from economic uncertainty, to endemic poverty, to the ever-present threat of radicalisation and extremism.
A global problem needs a truly global solution. It needs an unprecedented, courageous commitment from world leaders to stand united, to speak into the silence, and to demand change.
That is why I am hosting this summit. Today is just the start of a more co-ordinated, ambitious global effort to defeat