Russian property owners in the UK have turned the London into “a global money laundering capital”, Labour leader Kier Starmer has claimed.
Writing in this weekend’s Observer, Starmer accused successive Conservative governments of failing to act on the threat and said the UK needs to get “our own house in order”.
The warning came as new figures obtained by the Observer show nearly 30,000 properties in England and Wales, including mansions owned by the Russian elite, are registered to companies and individuals based in the British Virgin Islands. Most of the owners are unknown.
Starmer added that greater transparency, more powerful counter-espionage measures and new anti-corruption laws are required to combat money laundering in the UK.
