‘House prices in UK up over foreign criminals’ money’

A new report says house prices in the United Kingdom have been on the rise over foreign criminals’ purchasing of British property.

According to the Times report, foreign crime lords are pushing up house prices in Britain by laundering billions of pounds through the purchase of expensive properties.

The report quoted Donald Toon, director of the economic crime command at the National Crime Agency (NCA) as expressing alarm at the number of homes registered to complex offshore corporations, some of which will have been bought with laundered money.

Toon told the paper that London home prices had been “skewed” as a result.

The official said prices were being artificially driven up by criminals “who want to sequester their assets here in the UK.” He urged real estate agents to report any suspicious activity.

Now Ivor Kellock, finance and wealth management expert in the British capital, says, “London is recognized as being the money-laundering capital in the world.”

This is while the UK Treasury has earned £150m in the past three months from a tax on properties purchased by companies, trusts and investment funds, rather than individuals, which supports Toon’s claim, the Times said.

When the tax was first in operation in 2013/14, it raised £100m from 3,990 houses, with 80% of the revenue coming from two London boroughs – the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, it said.

Hundreds of billions of pounds are laundered in the city every year, according to the NCA, and it said investigations were intensifying.