Nearly 40% of dirty money is laundered in London and UK crown dependencies

Andrew Mitchell said dirty money was ‘often stolen from Africa and Africans by corrupt businessmen, bent politicians and war lords’. Photograph: Esther Smith/Alamy

Nearly 40% of the dirty money in the world is going through the City of London and other crown dependencies, the UK’s deputy foreign secretary has said.

Andrew Mitchell added the crown dependencies and overseas territories will face fresh demands from the Foreign Office to comply with UK laws setting up public registers of beneficial share ownership.