Dirty money is directly contributing to Kensington being the most unequal place in the country.
The Problem.
There are over 6000 properties registered to foreign owners in Kensington and Chelsea, mostly to anonymous shell companies registered in tax havens. A quarter are based in Jersey and the British Virgin Islands.
Research from Transparency International has shown that there is at least £1.5billion worth of property owned by Russian individuals accused of corruption or with links to the Kremlin in the UK – nearly a fifth of this is in Kensington and Chelsea. Many stand empty, hurting local businesses and communities.
The ruling family of Azerbaijan owns £45m worth of luxury property in Holland Park alone, despite the official register recording only four Azeri-owned properties in our borough. Their overall London property empire of mainly empty houses is worth £420m.
At the same time we have a housing crisis with more than 3,000 households waiting for a home and 2,100 in temporary accommodation. Kensington & Chelsea council is one of the worst performers nationally for meeting its housing delivery targets set by the central government.
Dirty money is directly contributing to Kensington being the most unequal borough in the country, with four of the top 10 most expensive streets in England while one in four kids grow up in poverty.
The Solution.
We want to know who really owns and controls property in Kensington, and then for investigators to go after the ill gotten gains and seize properties brought with corrupt funds. Those funds should be made available to help tackle our housing crisis.
We need less dirty money in Kensington, and more investment in social housing.