英国新法：没收说不清楚的财富 打击全球腐败

Politicians, public figures and criminals suspected of buying property with corrupt money will be forced to explain their wealth or face having their assets seized, under new legislation that has come into force in Britain this month.

The so-called Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs) have been welcomed by campaigners, who say the British capital is at the center of a global web of embezzled money.

The anti-corruption organization Transparency International has identified five properties they say British authorities could immediately begin investigating using Unexplained Wealth Orders. Among them are two apartments overlooking the River Thames that are worth about $15 million. The Russian anti-corruption campaigner and opposition politician Alexey Navalny alleges the apartments are owned by the First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Igor Shuvalov, whose self-declared annual salary is $157,000.

Britain's National Crime Agency says that in excess of $100 billion of corrupt money flows through London each year – much of it public money stolen from government budgets.

Campaigners cite the case of an $18 million house in London's Mayfair district, which until last year was owned by Rifaat al-Assad, the uncle of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Investigators believe he embezzled more than $300 million of state funds. He sold the house before it could be seized by authorities – and claims his wealth comes from rich Arab backers.

Those looking to hide their wealth often use a complex network of offshore holding companies to conceal their identity.

英国本月开始实行新法律，政界人士、公众人物以及犯罪分子如被怀疑用脏钱购买房产，将必须解释财产来源，否则房产将被没收。

英国的不可解释财富令（Unexplained Wealth Orders）受到活动人士的欢迎。他们说，英国首都伦敦位于赃款全球网的中心。

反贪腐组织透明国际列出了他们认为英国当局可以根据新法律立即开始调查的5处房产，其中包括两套俯瞰泰晤士河的公寓，价值1500万美元。俄罗斯反腐活动人士和反对派人士纳瓦列尼称这两套公寓为俄罗斯第一副总理书瓦洛夫所拥有。书瓦洛夫自己公布的年薪为15万7000美元。

英国国家打击犯罪调查局说，每年有大约1000亿美元的脏钱流入伦敦，其中大部分是从国家预算盗取的公共资金。

活动人士说，在伦敦梅费尔区有一栋价值1800万美元的房屋，去年之前一直为叙利亚总统阿萨德的一个叔叔里法特·阿萨德所拥有。调查人员认为，里法特·阿萨德贪污了3亿多美元的国家资金。他在当局采取没收行动之前卖掉了房子，声称他的钱来自富有的阿拉伯支持者。

隐匿财产的人经常会利用离岸控股公司等复杂的网络来掩盖自己的身份。