Extract from Commons statement on Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions - Apr 26
Tuesday, 27 April 2021 07:27
The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development
Affairs and First Secretary of State (Dominic Raab):...This country
has an important role to play in the fight against corruption. Our
status as a global financial centre makes us an attractive location
for investment, and we are proud of that and welcome it. But it
also makes us a honey pot—a lightning rod—for corrupt actors who
seek to launder their dirty money through British banks or British
businesses. That is why we...Request free trial
The Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and
Development Affairs and First Secretary of State ():...This country has an important role to play in
the fight against corruption. Our status as a global financial
centre makes us an attractive location for investment, and we are
proud of that and welcome it. But it also makes us a honey pot—a
lightning rod—for corrupt actors who seek to launder their dirty
money through British banks or British businesses. That is why we
have already taken steps to become a global leader in tackling
corruption and illicit finance. Our law enforcement agencies are
recognised as some of the most effective in the world. The
National Crime Agency’s international corruption
unit and its predecessors have restrained, confiscated or returned
well over £1 billion of assets stolen from developing countries
since 2006. My Department continues to provide funding for this
vital work...
(Wigan)
(Lab):...However, I hope the Foreign Secretary can assure
the House today that there will be resources to support
investigations and enforcement, because the current rate of
prosecutions for economic crime is woefully low, as he knows. To
put it bluntly, if he is serious about what he is saying today, he
needs to put his money where his mouth is and ensure that agencies
such as the National Crime Agency have the
resources they need, allow Parliament to put forward names to be
considered for designation and, as I pressed him to do last year,
allow parliamentary scrutiny of who is and, crucially, who is not
designated, to ensure that there is no prospect or suggestion that
big money can corrupt our politics and influence the decisions that
are taken. That last one really matters, because while I welcome
his words today, the mass of revelations that have come to light in
the last few days alone have shown a tangled network of financial
interests and cosy relationships at the heart of Government that
appear to send a green light to many of the very regimes that he
has mentioned in his statement. We need to know that this
announcement it is not just a gloss on the surface of a grubby
system that underneath signals business as usual...
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