Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 15 of Beneficial Ownership Transparency: enhancing transparency of beneficial ownership information of foreign companies undertaking certain economic activities in the UK, published by his Department in March 2016, how much property has been investigated as suspected proceeds of corruption in each year since 2004-05; and what proportion of those properties in each of those years used offshore corporate ownership.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not hold the information requested. Paragraph 15 of the discussion paper refers to information from the 2015 Transparency International Report “Corruption on your Doorstep”. The Metropolitan Police’s Proceeds of Corruption Unit provided the information to inform the report prior to their joining the National Crime Agency to form the International Corruption Unit. I have received the assurance that it is not possible to provide the information broken down by year without redoing the research which would be at disproportionate cost.