How the UK’s property market is serving as a money-laundering vehicle for the world’s criminal and corrupt.
The son of former Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev lives in a £3.5 million mansion in the Borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, despite being convicted in his homeland of the attempted murder of a UK citizen and corruption. The anonymous company that is being used to hide the ownership of the Surrey mansion can be linked to the alleged money-laundering scheme used to get the funds out of Kyrgyzstan.
“Blood Red Carpet”, asks where the money used to buy the Surrey mansion came from, and highlights the worrying lack of regulation of hidden foreign ownership of UK property.
"Our property market is serving as a money-laundering vehicle for the world’s criminal and corrupt. But we can stop this happening. Real estate agents should be made to identify the real buyers of properties, rather than just the paper companies they hide behind." Chido Dunn, Global Witness campaigner
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