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We're demanding an end to offshore secrecy – any questions?
We're demanding an end to offshore secrecy – any questions?
(about 2 hours later)
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'Corruption kills by making medicines more expensive'
Oliver Bullough
Corruption kills, by making medicines more expensive, hampering efforts to fight disease, and undermining public health campaigns.
Take Ukraine for example, which has one of the fastest-growing HIV epidemics in the world. Less than half of HIV positive Ukrainians have access to the medicines they need while public health campaigns are woefully inadequate.
Yet in 2013 the Anti-Corruption Action Centre alleged that the health ministry was overpaying for HIV and tuberculosis medicines by nearly a third.
The campaigners also claimed that middlemen cut themselves into the procurement process and jacked up prices, via companies based in Cyprus, London and elsewhere.
Related: Welcome to Ukraine, the most corrupt nation in Europe
As a result there were fewer drugs available, and a treatable epidemic spread unchecked.
It is vital that, while helping Ukraine and other countries fight corruption, we also stop anonymous ownership of such companies.
Greater accountability will prevent corrupt officials abusing their positions to earn money from vulnerable people.
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'It’s time to meet the kleptocrat next door'
Roman Borisovich
Ensuring transparency of ownership is key to addressing the problem of money laundering, especially in the London property market.
Not only will it help law enforcement and tax authorities go after dirty money, but it will also help lift the threat of libel hanging over the media.
Related: 'Kleptocracy tours' expose state failure to stop dirty money buying up London
When we host “kleptocracy tours” – a coach taking journalists around various London properties – our guides tell stories of how graft of biblical proportions has been used to purchase some of the capital’s most expensive addresses, often via offshore companies.
But no matter how much circumstantial evidence links a politician or oligarch to a particular property, the secrecy of offshore companies renders it impossible to establish, and in some cases report on, true ownership.
It’s time to stop secret property ownership and meet the kleptocrat next door.
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'As it stands Gulf investment will never return to Gulf citizens'
Ala'a Shehabi
“I have the honour to be the mayor of the eighth emirate” London mayor Boris Johnson boasted in 2013.
His comment highlights the fact that for rich sheikhs London is seen as a safe haven for large investments, with offshore companies offering the added bonus of buying property anonymously.
It’s estimated that in 2014 alone Gulf countries accounted for 10% of the total £17bn of direct capital flows into the UK real estate market, an estimated £1.96bn. At Bahrain Watch, we believe these estimates are conservative – to say the least.
Gulf investments over the past two decades have been touted as “good for London”, and have been associated with prominent landmarks from the Shard to the Olympic Park and Harrods.
But the Panama Papers have revealed the extent of to which rich individuals have built up vast swathes of property, often anonymously.
The leaked documents showed that Sheikh Khalifa, from the United Arab Emirates, was the beneficial owner of at least 30 companies established in the British Virgin Islands, through which he held at least $1.7bn in London commercial and residential property.
So while it’s generous that Boris Johnson welcomes this money into London, it also shows clearly these investments are unlikely to ever serve the citizens of the countries it came from.
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We're demanding an end to offshore secrecy – any questions?
We're demanding an end to offshore secrecy – any questions?
Maeve Shearlaw
Maeve Shearlaw
A month after the Panama Papers revealed global elites were using a warren of offshore business opportunities to protect their money from taxation, David Cameron is getting ready to host an anti-corruption summit in London.
A month after the Panama Papers revealed global elites were using a warren of offshore business opportunities to protect their money from taxation, David Cameron is getting ready to host an anti-corruption summit in London.
The UK prime minister has talked a strong game in the run up the summit, promising to deliver an international agreement that will leave the “perpetrators of corruption with nowhere to hide”.
The UK prime minister has talked a strong game in the run up the summit, promising to deliver an international agreement that will leave the “perpetrators of corruption with nowhere to hide”.
But some have questioned his commitment to this issue after his family’s financial affairs were revealed in the leak – and with London repeatedly described as a magnet for “dirty money”.
But some have questioned his commitment to this issue after his family’s financial affairs were revealed in the leak – and with London repeatedly described as a magnet for “dirty money”.
As the summit approaches we’ve convened a panel of anti-corruption specialists and asked them which issues they think should be most urgently addressed on 12 May.
As the summit approaches we’ve convened a panel of anti-corruption specialists and asked them which issues they think should be most urgently addressed on 12 May.
Meet the panel
Meet the panel
Roman Borisovich, who runs London’s “kleptocracy tours” highlighting the dirty money propping up London’s property market; Oliver Bullough, a journalist investigating corruption in Russia and Ukraine; and Ala’a Shehabi, from NGO Bahrain Watch.
Roman Borisovich, who runs London’s “kleptocracy tours” highlighting the dirty money propping up London’s property market; Oliver Bullough, a journalist investigating corruption in Russia and Ukraine; and Ala’a Shehabi, from NGO Bahrain Watch.
Any questions?
Any questions?
The panel will join us for a live Q&A on Friday 6 May from 12-1pm BST. Any questions? Post them using the form below or tweet them at @GuardianNewEast.
The panel will join us for a live Q&A on Friday 6 May from 12-1pm BST. Any questions? Post them using the form below or tweet them at @GuardianNewEast.
Please note that due to the legally sensitive nature of this topic we may not be able to have comments open during the live Q&A
Please note that due to the legally sensitive nature of this topic we may not be able to have comments open during the live Q&A
