Cameron hails step against corruption

Countries’ vow to publish lists of offshore owners not enough, critics say

LONDON— A handful of countries agreed Thursday to publish lists of who really owns companies in their territories, a move hailed by the British government as a step toward stopping a global plague of money laundering and bribery.

The “beneficial ownership” registers were announced at a London summit called by British Prime Minister David Cameron to fight what he termed the “cancer” of corruption. Cameron, who has made combating corruption one of his flagship policies, said the gathering showed that after years of good intentions, the conference marked the start of “a global movement against corruption.”

“There’s nothing so powerful as an idea whose time has come,” he said.

But many countries didn’t sign up to the tough actions Cameron sought, and anti-corruption groups said criminals would still find plenty of places to stash their money, including tax havens linked to Britain.

Susana Ruiz, tax expert at anti-poverty charity Oxfam, said “tax dodgers can still sleep easily tonight.”

Heads of state, ministers and diplomats from about 40 countries met Thursday at the elegant London mansion Lancaster House and made a plethora of promises: to fight bribery in public contracting and the energy sector; to clean up international sports; to step up intelligence and law-enforcement co-operation; and to return stolen assets to their owners.

The U.S. and Britain announced they would host a global asset-recovery conference next year.

Firm commitments, however, varied widely. Just six countries agreed to publish registers of who really benefits from corporate ownership, a key goal of anti-corruption groups. Six more said they would “explore doing so.”

The U.S. didn’t make that commitment, although Secretary of State John Kerry told the conference that a “pandemic” of corruption “is as much of an enemy” as extremist terrorism, which it helps drive by fuelling public anger and helplessness.

Cameron said “corruption is the cancer at the heart of so many problems we need to tackle in our world.”

Critics of Cameron’s efforts say London’s financial district, the City, is awash with ill-gotten gains, and many of the world’s leading tax havens are British dependencies or overseas territories.

In a move toward greater transparency, Britain has passed a law requiring British companies, including foreign firms that own British property or seek government contracts, to disclose who really benefits from their ownership.

Cameron said the register was a move toward “cleaning up our property market right here in London,” which is a magnet for wealthy overseas investors.

France, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Kenya and Afghanistan agreed Thursday to publish similar ownership registers, while countries including Australia, Ireland and Norway said that they would explore the idea.

“Corruption is the cancer at the heart of so many problems we need to tackle in our world.” DAVID CAMERON BRITISH PRIME MINISTER