Newsletter | Volume 1

As part of the Anti-Corruption sessions at the 10th annual European GRC Summit in London on the 28-29th September 2016, we will conduct a separate meeting to launch a set of recommendations for greater transparency and accountability in the prominent role that the UK plays as an enabler in combating global corruption with appropriate actions. The session is led by Lady Olga Maitland and BCCD chairman Mariano Davies.

The notorious "Panama Papers" has once again echoed the long-established role UK's plays as a haven for corrupt individuals and how they can conceal the amassed 'embezzled' wealth. The Panama Papers have established that the UK is one of the prime location, where unscrupulous individuals are, can hide the 'dishonest' money.

The current system makes it rather easy for corrupt individuals to protect their cash.Of the 214,000 corporate entities exposed in the Panama Papers, over half are registered in the British Virgin Islands. Research shows that approx. 36,000 properties in London are owned by offshore jurisdictions.

Buy their way into respectability
The session is divided into two parts. The first part addresses the current dilemma and situation. There are some issues that we will address that enable corrupt individuals to enjoy luxury lifestyles and cleanse their reputations. Some of these problems relevant for the UK governance mandates are;

The ability to buy UK property anonymously through foreign companies.
The UK's Overseas Territories since. The British Virgin Islands offer concealed business ownership.
Lack of powers for law enforcement to seize stolen assets.
An anti-money laundering system is easy to bypass with the exemption to launder money.
Making it easy for corrupt individuals to hide their cash.

The second part focusses on the solutions on some of the recommendations provided by speakers and panellists;

Transparency and Accountability. Ensure the UK's Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies introduce centralised public registers of beneficial ownership, and provide corrupt individuals cannot buy UK property with impunity.
Compliance mandates. Increasing the capabilities of the UK's asset recovery regime to seize fraudulent funds.
Monitoring the anti-money laundering (AML) regime; fix the flaws in the UK's AML schemes; Oversight on AML supervision with strict discipline and impeachment of professional enablers.
Professional enablers: develop Governance and conduct code of ethics and morals for the UK based accountants, lawyers, estate agents.

Mossack Fonseca, the Panama lawyers, has the UK as the second most popular place for the firm to operate. According to the ICIJ, Mossack Fonseca worked with 1,924 UK professional enablers to set up companies, foundations, and trusts for customers.

Transparency International paper http://www.transparency.org.uk/publications/paradise-lost/