For too long, Kensington has been the epicentre of Britain’s dirty money problem. We need to curb corrupt funds in Kensington property, go after empty homes, and invest in desperately needed social housing.

We are calling on our Member of Parliament and Kensington and Chelsea Council to ensure:

1. Transparency over who owns and controls property in the borough
2. Investigators with teeth to go after corrupt funds
3. Effective council action on empty property
4. Increased supply of social housing

Key facts

• In the borough of Kensington & Chelsea alone, over 6,000 properties are registered in the name of anonymously owned foreign companies.
• 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.
• 2189 companies registered in UK and tax havens used in 48 Russian money laundering and corruption cases involving over £82bn in funds
• There are over 1000 empty homes in the borough.
• There is a waiting list of 3000 for council housing, 13% of households are overcrowded and the temporary accommodation level is 50% higher than London overall.
• The council is one of the worst performers nationally for meeting its housing delivery targets set by the central government.

We need less dirty money in Kensington, and more investment in social housing.