Dirty Money

What is Britain's Dirty Money problem?

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Britain, and London specifically, is a leading global financial centre. Money has flowed in and out of London for centuries, with the city taking its place at the forefront of global finance in the mid 19th century. Beneath the city of London’s tall glass towers, billions upon billions of pounds— linked to corruption, organised crime, tax evasion and international sanctions— passes in and out of the UKs financial systems at home, and in the Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies overseen by Westminster.

The majority of us will never see this money, know who’s moving it, how or why. But we will live with the consequences and feel it in our daily lives. So what is dirty money? Also known as illicit finance, it is money that is earned, hidden or moved, in legal and criminal ways, while also undermining public interest. 

It includes:

1. Laundering criminal cash. Making sure gunrunning, sex trafficking, fraud, you name it, provides profits that can be spent and not traced, by running it through enough shell companies that no one knows where it came from.
2. Dodging taxes. Routing wealth through low‑tax jurisdictions and complex schemes so it’s barely taxed anywhere, starving public services of the revenue they rely on.
3. Stashing secret cash. Helping sanctioned elites slip past restrictions, by storing it in assets with mysterious ownership, to keep fortunes accessible when war criminals or corrupt officials are meant to be cut off.
4. Hiding corruption and criminal payments. Masking bribes, kickbacks and influence‑buying a

But not all of this system is underground, dirty money operates in the shadows. But those shadows are provided by a lucrative, legal above-ground system that provides for the complex corporate structures, opaque rules around ownership of assets, and skilled professional enablers in accountancy, finance, tax and the law that make it all possible. So why is Britain at the centre of this? Our legal system, overseas jurisdictions and professional ecosystem are perfectly designed and set up to operate as the ‘Butler to the world’, solving the problems of the rich, powerful, and often criminal, who can pay the right price.

Dirty money doesn’t just stay in the financial system. It leaks out of the pipes into everyday life. Tax goes unpaid. Wealth is hidden offshore. UK property is bought by anonymous shell companies, hiding who the true owner is. That’s depriving our communities and public services of vital cash. Billions of pounds in taxes are being lost every year, meanwhile 14 million people are living in poverty. Too many are putting the basics back on the supermarket shelves, struggling to pay for childcare or get an affordable place to live. This matters. Because when dirty money runs rampant, it forces the consequences on to households across the country. And the kicker? We’re living in the heart of the system that keeps the dirty money flowing, with the government failing to do what’s needed to stem the flow.

So why does this matter now? In June, the UK government is hosting an illicit finance summit, which will bring together senior officials from governments around the world, policy experts and civil society leaders to build transnational momentum to tackle different forms of dirty money and illicit finance. Between June 23-24, the Foreign Secretary will be aiming to secure real-world commitments that tackle illicit gold, use of obscure property trusts, and crypto in criminal and illegal activity. We also need to see them step up to the plate and recognise Britain’s own role in keeping the pipes maintained and open that allow dirty money to flow freely. This includes recognising the role of British tax havens and professional services, and what they will do about it.

The question is, will this be a talking shop that looks good through the window, but doesn’t actually deliver what we all want? It’s time that we look at dirty money as a serious problem, causing serious harm to our communities. This is time to decide whether wealth should contribute fairly, whether the services we all rely on are funded properly, and whether the rules we stick to apply equally. This is a choice of what kind of country Britain wants to be. One where our economy looks after everyone’s needs, or one where the system is set up to cater to the needs of the super-rich, powerful and criminal.