Oredola Adeola
The United Kingdom Government and Transparency International UK , have acted under the new provision of Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO) which took effect from 31, January, listed two London houses suspected to be owned by a ranking Senator in Nigerian 8th National Assembly ( name withheld) for investigation under Britain’s new law.
Since the new anti- graft law took effect in January, corrupt politicians and criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa, Europe and Middle East, who launder an estimated £90 billion every year through the United Kingdom, have been under pressure to explain the sources of wealth or face seizure.
The UWO bill was signed by the UK Government after was passed by the parliament on April, 27, 2017. The important provision of the Criminal Finance Bill that introduces a powerful new weapon into the anti-corruption arsenal: Unexplained Wealth Orders, is coming after similar bill was accented and already taken effect in Australia and Ireland.
According to Transparency International(TI), Land Registry documents show that the houses at 7 and 8 Whittaker Street, Belgravia, London are owned by Landfield International Developments Limited and Renocon Property Development Limited.
Based on current market estimates by Zoopla, the properties are worth a combined total of around £15 million.
Beside this new findings the UK TI gathered that property in London and other major cities in the United Kingdom are major destination of corrupt cash.
The Times magazine apart from Nigerian Senator specifically mention Russian oligarchs and politician in including small business owner in Brussels who buys a multi-million pound property in central London.
Rachel Davies Teka of anti-corruption Transparency International UK, said: “The introduction of UWOs is a significant moment in the fight against dirty money flowing into the UK.
” They will allow law enforcement to much more easily investigate assets that are highly likely to have been bought using corrupt money, often stolen from populations in some of the poorest parts of the world.”
“From Russia to Nigeria to the Middle East it is no secret that corrupt officials have channelled ill-gotten funds into the UK via the property market,” Ms Teka said.
The provision specifically targets red flag situations where a person buying expensive items, like property or jewels, doesn’t appear to be wealthy enough to make the purchase. If the person has links to serious crime or access to public money, then the authorities can act.
The UK law enforcement agencies can now use an Unexplained Wealth Order to investigate the source of that money, and, if it is found to be corrupt money, more easily return it to those from whom it has been stolen.
Ben Wallace, UK’s security minister, told The Times on Saturday that he wanted the “full force of the government” to bear down on criminals and corrupt politicians using Britain as a playground and haven: “When we get to you we will come for you, for your assets and we will make the environment that you live in difficult”.
“If they are an MP in a country where they don’t receive a big salary but suddenly they have a nice Knightsbridge townhouse worth millions and they can’t prove how they paid for it, we will seize that asset, we will dispose of it and we will use the proceeds to fund our law enforcement,” he added.