London hosts leaders at global anti-corruption summit

Britain announced measures on Thursday to make public the foreign ownership of properties in the U.K. .

Speaking at the start of a major anti-corruption summit in London, Prime Minister David Cameron said any foreign company wanting to buy property or bid for government contracts would have to join a public register that reveals their true owners.

Foreign companies own around 100,000 properties in England and Wales, of which nearly half are in London, according to government figures.

Cameron said: “The evil of corruption reaches into every corner of the world. It lies at the heart of the most urgent problems we face – from economic uncertainty, to endemic poverty, to the ever-present threat of radicalization and extremism.

“A global problem needs a truly global solution. It needs an unprecedented, courageous commitment from world leaders to stand united, to speak into the silence, and to demand change."

Afghanistan, France, the Netherlands and Nigeria have also committed to emulate Britain in setting up public registers.

The one-day summit is being attended by heads of state and government from around the world, as well as the leaders of the IMF and World Bank.

However, the start of the event has been overshadowed by a gaffe earlier this week from the U.K. leader. Cameron was overheard describing Afghanistan and Nigeria as “possibly the two most corrupt countries in the world".

He was picked up making the remarks by television microphones on Tuesday as he spoke to Queen Elizabeth II at an event to mark her 90th birthday.

Participants are expected to agree to create an International Anti-Corruption Coordination Center in London to help prosecutors and law-enforcement agencies work together around the world to pursue corrupt elites and recover stolen assets.