Gove vows to end Russian property ‘racket’

MICHAEL GOVE has pledged to shut down the “racket of illicit money” from Russian oligarchs who use remaining loopholes to buy and sell vast homes under a cloak of anonymity.

Draft legislation produced by the housing ministry sets out new powers that would require any company, trust or other entity involved in a property transaction, to provide the Land Registry with details of its true beneficial owner, in order to complete a purchase or sale.

The move is designed to help turn a corner on the use of Britain as a haven for billionaires seeking to launder cash, or discreetly store vast assets here.

It goes further than existing plans to create a register of “beneficial” owners of foreign companies, and means that details of the individuals behind any body, including trusts, would have to be revealed in order to conclude a property transaction. It comes amid frustration in government that some Russian oligarchs appear to have avoided sanctions being imposed on palatial UK homes by transferring them into trusts.

Mr Gove, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, told The Sunday Telegraph: “Sunlight is the best disinfectant and for too long the property market has been in the shade. The only question asked when property is purchased in this country has been ‘how much’ and now we will be asking ‘who is this property actually for’ and ‘where has this money come from’?

“We want to shut down the racket of illicit money that has flooded through the British property market once and for all. Our property market will no longer be open to corrupt individuals and regimes laundering their money and hiding their identity.”

The sweeping powers around property transactions are contained in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill.