Adrian Lovett, deputy chief executive officer of anti-poverty campaign ONE, said: “The prize is within reach at this summit for David Cameron to secure his leadership on tackling corruption”.
Advertisement
“This battle will not be won overnight, but if we continue to show the courage and political will to stand against corruption that we have seen today, we can and will defeat it”.
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 and Afghanistan would also commit to launching public registers of true company ownership, Cameron’s office said.
Australia, New Zealand, Jordan, Indonesia, Ireland and Georgia will agree to take the initial steps towards making similar arrangements, it added.
Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani arrives for the Anti-Corruption Summit in London, Thursday, May 12, 2016.
He said stopping corruption was vital in “tackling extremism”. Just six countries agreed to publish registers of who really benefits from corporate ownership – a key goal of anti-corruption groups.
A spokesman said that Buhari and Ghani “have been invited to the summit because they are driving the fight against corruption in their countries”.
Mr Cameron said that people in developing countries wanted justice as much as they wanted clean water and health care.
Anti-corruption protesters who gathered close to the summit venue, some dressed as bankers with bowler hats reclining on deck chairs as they fanned themselves with banknotes, said what was needed was an outright abolition of tax havens. “But this particular president is actually not corrupt”, he said, insisting that Mr. Buhari was “trying very hard”. Delegates discussed corruption in sport, but soccer governing body Federation Internationale de Football Association, wracked by a vast bribery scandal, is not at the meeting. British territories including the Cayman Islands and Jersey have agreed to draw up lists of who owns companies registered there.
This month the Obama administration announced a set of financial regulations that would force companies to disclosure more information about their owners, part of an effort billed as a crackdown on tax evaders and money launderers.
The anti-corruption summit is being hailed as the first of its kind, bringing together governments, business and civil society.
At a Buckingham Palace reception with Queen Elizabeth II, a television microphone caught Cameron saying “we have got some leaders of some fantastically corrupt countries coming to Britain”.
This article has been updated to include a new video and comments made by President Buhari.
Scottish National Party leader Angus Robertson asked the PM if he had heard appeals from Nigerian anti-corruption activists who said their efforts were “seriously undermined” by the United Kingdom allowing corrupt individuals to “hide their ill-gotten gains in your luxury homes, department stores, vehicle dealerships, private schools and anywhere else that will accept their cash with no questions asked”.
Advertisement
“When it comes to tackling corruption the worldwide community has looked the other way for far too long”, he said.
