Booming London Property Market a Haven for Dirty Money
时间：2018-12-16 作者：英语课 分类：VOA标准英语2015年(七月)
Booming London Property Market a Haven 1 for Dirty Money
LONDON—
Billions of dollars of so-called "dirty money" from the proceeds of crime, especially from Russia, are being laundered 2 through the London property market, according to anti-corruption activists 5. The British government has pledged to crack down on the practice.
During the past five years, prime London property has risen in value by 42 percent, and campaigners say it is partly fueled by "dirty" money from the proceeds of crime.
In a recent British television program titled "From Russia With Cash," anti-corruption activist 4 Roman Borisovich posed as a Russian minister looking to buy property with stolen money while visiting several real estate agents in central London. Speaking to VOA via Skype, he described what happened.
“They were all eager to proceed," he said. "Even when I was telling them that the money was meant for the procurement 6 of drugs [medicines] and I stole the money, and obviously sick people were deprived of health care. And they could not care less.”
All the agents suggested buying the properties through offshore 7 companies to offer anonymity 8 to the buyer. One proposed exploiting tax havens 9 in Cyprus and the British dependency of Jersey 10 to set up a so-called "shell company."
“And this particular agent was volunteering to put us in front of a Jersey financiers to put the trust together, and a Cypriot lawyer to put everything else together,” said Borisovich.
Government figures show $191 billion worth of property in Britain is owned by offshore companies. Speaking on a trip Tuesday to Singapore, Prime Minister David Cameron said most were legitimate 11 businesses, but accepted there were problems.
“We need to stop corrupt 3 officials or organized criminals using anonymous 12 shell companies to invest their ill-gotten gains in London property without being tracked down,” he said.
The government has been aware of the laundering 13 allegations for years, says Justin Urquhart Stewart of London-based Seven Investment Management.
“This is dirty money, coming from crime, maybe coming from terrorism, so this needs to be dealt with now,” he said.
Under British law, real estate agents are to report any suspicions that the cash used to buy property has been obtained through criminal means; but, many agents say they should not be expected to detect sophisticated fraud.
- It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
- The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。
- Send these sheets to be laundered. 把这些床单送去洗熨。 来自辞典例句
- The air seems freshly laundered. Sydney thinks of good drying weather. 空气似乎被清洗过，让悉妮想起晴朗干爽适合晒衣服的好天气。 来自互联网
- The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
- This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。
- He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
- He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。
- His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
- Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He is in charge of the procurement of materials.他负责物资的采购。
- More and more,human food procurement came to have a dominant effect on their evolution.人类获取食物愈来愈显著地影响到人类的进化。
- A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
- A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。
- Names of people in the book were changed to preserve anonymity. 为了姓名保密，书中的人用的都是化名。
- Our company promises to preserve the anonymity of all its clients. 我们公司承诺不公开客户的姓名。
- Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
- Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网
- He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
- They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。
- Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
- That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。
- Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
- The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。
- Separate the white clothes from the dark clothes before laundering. 洗衣前应当把浅色衣服和深色衣服分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- He was charged with laundering money. 他被指控洗钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》