Vertical Markets

Anti-Corruption Summit welcomed

by Mark Rowe

Commitments made by governments at an Anti-Corruption Summit in London have been welcomed as a step forward against corruption. The anti-corruption pressure group Transparency International called for actions to start immediately.

Prime Minister David Cameron is hosting the international anti-corruption summit. The PM 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 corruption.”

Comment

Jose Ugaz, Chair of Transparency International, said: “This is a good day for the fight against corruption, but there is more to do. Well done to the countries that have shown leadership; but it is hard to credit those who still fail to make sufficient progress. We need to build on trust and a common agenda between governments, business and civil society so that we deliver more than words. We need actions to create change.

A dozen more countries are signing up to public registries containing information on the real people who own and control companies or committing to explore doing so. An international centre is to share information between law enforcement agencies tracking corrupt money; and an international forum will seek to speed the return of stolen assets.

Transparency International pointed to key countries missing, including major economies such as the US.

José Ugaz said: “Exposing corruption is not enough. We need to stop impunity for corruption. The corrupt need to face the consequences of their crimes.

“We called on countries to be ambitious and concrete in their proposals to prevent and punish corruption and protect those who stand up against it. Some countries have risen to the challenge and others have not. As of today, six more countries will publish public registries of the real owners of companies, with another six committing to explore doing so. This would make it harder to hide, transfer and benefit from corrupt money.

“We also welcome the fact that some governments will tackle secrecy in government activities by making information on procurement and contracting open by default. The UK has shown great leadership in gathering together more than 40 countries and the heads of key institutions. However it has not managed to get its own overseas territories to sign up to the same standards of transparency on company ownership that the Prime Minister has rightly so championed.

“The Summit has galvanised global attention on corruption and how to fight it. The real issue of how corruption works – secrecy – is being tackled. More governments have committed to ensuring that information is made public making it harder for the corrupt to hide their illicit wealth. But we will need to see the laws in place and enacted before we can claim any victories.”

Register

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, the UK Government said. 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.

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