Transparency International report shows that almost 52,000 UK properties are still owned anonymously

07 February 2023

Martin Cheek said: “While the Government’s creation of the Register of Overseas Entities is to be welcomed, Transparency International’s research shows that a shocking 52,00 properties are either unregistered or have their ownership obscured. That’s enough properties to fill a city the size of Cambridge.

“These loopholes demonstrate that the register, while a starting point, is not a complete solution for property and investment firms looking to protect themselves from the risk of breaching money-laundering or sanctions rules – breaches that come with eye-watering fines and significant reputational damage.

“The data should also sound a wake-up call to those firms that organised criminals are actively working to avoid detection.

“The quickest and most effective way to navigate this compliance minefield is by using electronic verification (EV) – as recommended by the Government in the 2020 Money Laundering and Terrorist Finance Act.

“International verification is particularly challenging due to regulatory, cultural and technological differences between countries. By integrating multiple data sources, EV can verify international individuals and businesses, processing them under the same rigorous standards as our UK checks.

“From verifying the identity of on-boarding clients to sanction list checking and monitoring, EV is the best way carry out due diligence on overseas investors.”