London: Foreign criminals who launder “dirty money” by buying properties in Britain will have their names published in a government crackdown, David Cameron is expected to say on Tuesday. The Prime Minister will vow to strike “the biggest blow in a generation” against the “cancer” of corruption by seeking to reveal the ultimate owners of secretive overseas companies.

Buying London mansions via anonymised offshore accounts is seen as an easy way for foreign criminals and corrupt leaders to launder large sums of money in a single transaction.

The National Crime Agency has warned the trend is bumping up house prices in the capital by pushing other wealthy buyers down the chain in a “ripple effect”. Speaking in Singapore, Cameron will say: “The UK must not become a safe haven for corrupt money from around the world.

“I want Britain to be the most open country in the world for investment. But I want to ensure that all this money is clean money. There is no place for dirty money in Britain. Indeed, there should no place for dirty money anywhere.

“Together I believe we can defeat the cancer of corruption in all its forms and with it, strike the biggest blow for our generation in the struggle to ensure greater prosperity in every part of the world.”

In measures to be introduced this autumn, the Land Registry will list British properties owned by foreign companies. Downing Street is also exploring ways to identify the true owners of foreign “shell” companies which are often used to buy properties anonymously.

There are already plans to launch a register of the ultimate owners of UK-registered businesses, to cut through the secrecy that aids tax evasion.

The release of vast amounts of information related to property ownership will help deter corrupt foreign leaders from using London to launder illicit gains.

It will let police and charities “follow the money” and “shine a light” on potential corruption, government sources said.

The Prime Minister will warn that properties in Britain “are being bought by people overseas through anonymous shell companies, some with plundered or laundered cash.”

Cameron will single out a former Kazakh secret police chief linked to a £150 million (Dh850 million) London property empire. He will also name James Ibori, former governor of Nigeria’s Delta State who was jailed for 13 years for fraud and was linked to homes in St John’s Wood and Hampstead. The speech comes days before Cameron meets Najeeb Razak, the Malaysian prime minister, who is facing demands to resign over allegations of political corruption. Najeeb has denied he received almost £450 million ($700 million) from a troubled development fund.