London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Luxury London homes still used to launder illicit funds, says report

Luxury London homes still used to launder illicit funds, says report

Luxury London homes are an “attractive method to launder illicit funds”, a government report has said as the National Crime Agency steps up its McMafia-style “dirty money” investigations into suspect funds flooding into the country.
The national risk assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing 2020 has upgraded the risk level for the sector, saying: “Corrupt foreign elites continue to be attracted to the UK property market, especially in London, to disguise their corruption proceeds.”

The report, put together by the Treasury and the Home Office, said law enforcement agencies had seen increased overseas buyers and cash flows into the UK property market. “The high amounts of money that can be moved in one transaction and the appreciation in value, along with the enhanced lifestyle, makes them very attractive to criminals,” the report said.

Expensive London homes, known in the industry as super prime properties, have long been popular with overseas buyers, including those who have wished to conceal their identities and source of their wealth.

The National Crime Agency has expanded its use of unexplained wealth orders to freeze several multimillion pound homes in the capital while it investigates how the money used to buy them was obtained. In one case, a £50m home overlooking Hyde Park was seized from a Pakistani tycoon.

“Money-laundering cases involving the ownership of property by overseas individuals and companies are inherently complex, and their greater occurrence has increased investigative resource constraints,” the report said. “This coupled with a greater understanding of abuse in the sector has led to an increased risk score.”

Estate agents had their risk upgraded from low to medium and there were signs that some in the market for high-end homes were failing to comply with rules.

Half of the estate agents advertising properties for sale at £5m failed to registered with HM Revenue and Customs for anti-money-laundering supervision in 2019 or had failed to pay their annual fees for this. Even among firms that had registered, HMRC found not all had sufficient training in place for staff.

The Treasury report, which is a regular review of the risks associated with financial transactions, said the use of complex systems of shell companies registered overseas in secrecy jurisdictions obscured ownership and made it hard to find out where the money really came from.

The number of suspicious activity reports, a signal of concern about a transaction, that estate agents filed increased by 21% between 2017 and 2018 to 861, the report said.

Jerry Walters, the managing director of FCS Compliance, an anti-money-laundering business owned by the property firm LonRes, said the report was “pretty damning but not wholly surprising”.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
×