Nearly 40% dirty money is laundered in London and UK crown dependencies

[Mr. Sparkle]

Source: The Guardian

Nearly 40% of the dirty money in the world is going through the City of London and other crown dependencies, the UK’s deputy foreign secretary has said. Andrew Mitchell added the crown dependencies and overseas territories will face fresh demands from the Foreign Office to comply with UK laws setting up public registers of beneficial share ownership. Since legislation was passed in the House of Commons in 2016 the UK has faced prevarication from overseas territories which are reluctant to set up public registers that disclose the ultimate owners of funds in tax havens.

Speaking to the Bright Blue thinktank, Mitchell said: “On the issue of dirty money, it is important to recognise that Britain has a dog in the fight. According to some estimates, 40% of money laundering around the world – this is money often stolen from Africa and Africans by corrupt businessmen, bent politicians and war lords and so on – 40% of that money comes through London and overseas territories and crown dependencies.”

He added that “crown dependencies and the overseas territories have not yet done as much as they must do”. Mitchell predicted that with David Cameron as foreign secretary, the UK would “see a greater emphasis now on introducing these open registers of beneficial ownership”. Overseas territories, such as British Virgin Islands, ‘have not yet done as much as they must do’ to eradicate dirty money. Photograph: Hemis/Alamy

He warned: “If these overseas territories and crown dependencies want to have our king and our flag, then they must also accept our values, which is why we are so intent on ensuring dirty money cannot flow in and from there.” The minister said that during the British chairing of the G8 group of industrialised nations in 2016, Lord Cameron put the attack on dirty money and the importance of open registers of beneficial ownership “front and centre”. It is widely accepted that after his resignation as prime minister in 2016 the momentum inside the government about fighting corruption in the overseas territories dissipated.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/14/nearly-40-of-dirty-money-is-laundered-in-london-and-uk-crown-dependenies

[Celerity]

1. The Members - Offshore Banking Business (1979)

[Warpy]

2. The City, the London financial district, is officially exempted from Britisbh oversight

which kind of puts Putin's interference into Brexit into perspective, doesn't it?

As of about 5 years ago, it cost about $8 US to charter a corporatin in The City. One then deposited cash in the bank under the corporate name. Then move it around to other shell corporations or put it into yachts, real estate, or just bling. Presto changeo, nice, clean, freshly laundered dirty money.

Putin was terrified Brussells was going to get a little to nosy and that's why he sicced the troll farm on the UK.

London isn't the only place this is happening, of course, but it's the biggest and most popular.

[PSPS]

5. Londongrad

[Warpy]

6. It's why Putin is so full of shit when he starts screaming about lobbing nukes in Ukraine

It would quickly lead to all out war and he knows it and no one would sign off on using them, anyway, because their kids and grandkids are all living in London and other big western cities., even one of Putin's daughters.

They all think they're going to get out of Russia a nanosecond before the country implodes.

You know, just like US billionaires think they're going to ge to their bolt holes.

[Jacson6]

3. The best option is to apply a flat 10% tax on it

Spending millions of pounds on police and enforcement makes no sense to me. YMMV. IMHO.

[Traurigkeit]

4. Let us not look too closely on the history of the City of London

it is a pit so deep

[Wonder Why]

7. "London, the cleanest city in the world! We can clean anything - clothes, cars, Amtrak trains and money."

Amtrak: "See the beautiful scenic West on our long distance trains through the dirtiest windows since Pornhub bought out Microsoft!"