LONDON—British Prime Minister David Cameron gathered world leaders in London Thursday to crack down on corruption — but critics say his mission has been undermined by Britain’s tolerance for tax havens and his own indiscreet description of some attending nations as “fantastically corrupt.”
The meeting has drawn a wide array of politicians from around the world, including U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and the presidents of Afghanistan, Nigeria and Colombia. Banks, civil-society organizations and the International Monetary Fund are also attendingpot the gathering, which aims to produce a global declaration against corruption and break what Cameron has called the “taboo about tackling this issue head-on.”
“Make no mistake, corruption affects us all, Britain included,” Cameron said in a pre-summit statement.
Cameron said Britain would take the lead in eliminating financial wrongdoing, and 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.
Britain said the register meant that “corrupt individuals and countries will no longer be able to move, launder and hide illicit funds through London’s property market.”
London is a magnet for international property-buyers, and the government estimates that foreign companies own around 100,000 properties across England and Wales, almost half of them in London.
