Prime minister David Cameron will today promise to expose the use of anonymous shell companies to buy property in the UK, in a speech in Singapore.
According to extracts of his speech given to the BBC, Cameron will say that properties in the UK and particularly those in London “are being bought by people overseas through anonymous shell companies, some with plundered or laundered cash”.
More than 100,000 UK property titles are registered to overseas companies, with more than 36,000 in London owned offshore.
This equates to around £122bn of English and Welsh property.
As part of the crackdown the Land Registry will publish data later this year setting out which foreign companies own land and property in England and Wales.
“There is no place for dirty money in Britain. Indeed, there should no place for dirty money anywhere,” Cameron will say.
Cameron’s speech will be delivered during his four-day tour of South East Asia to strengthen trade links for the UK.
Representatives from dozens of leading UK businesses are travelling with the prime minister, including Estates Gazette editor Damian Wild.
Follow @damianwild on Twitter for live updates from the trip.
