A powerful committee of MPs has launched an inquiry into ‘dirty money’ from abroad being used in the UK amid mounting calls on the Government to crackdown on Russian cash flowing into ‘Londongrad’.
The Foreign Affairs Select Committee announced its probe will look at ‘significant challenges’ to the global economy, including the ‘vast flows of dirty money across borders’.
The committee published a report called ‘Moscow Gold’ in 2018 and its Tory chairman Tom Tugendhat has accused the Government of having ‘done little’ to address the issue since then.
Mr Tugendhat said the UK attracts investment from all over the world but these ‘channels of wealth have also been carrying corruption and crime through our markets’.
Mr Tugendhat said that Vladimir Putin and Russia’s ‘intimidation of Ukraine… makes it clear we must act’.
The Foreign Affairs Select Committee, chaired by Tory MP Tom Tugendhat, has launched an inquiry into ‘dirty money’ flowing into the UK
Mr Tugendhat said that Vladimir Putin and Russia’s ‘intimidation of Ukraine… makes it clear we must act’
A number of bodies have expressed concerns about the scale of Russian investment in London in recent years.
Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee concluded in a report published in July 2020 that Russian oligarchs had been welcomed into Britain ‘with open arms’ and had been ‘recycling illicit finance through the London “laundromat”‘.
The flow of cash has prompted some to describe the capital as ‘Londongrad’.
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Mr Tugendhat said: ‘The UK is at the heart of global finance, attracting investment from around the world and delivering considerable benefits to the British people.
‘But the reality is that the channels of wealth have also been carrying corruption and crime through our markets. Since our 2018 report ‘Moscow Gold’, the Government has done little to address these dangers.
‘Today, illicit finance and corruption are closer to home and now there are new threats to contend with. Dirty money is allowed to move beyond the reach of law enforcement and challenge the capabilities of regulators around the world. New technology is thwarting anti-money laundering efforts and sanctions enforcement, playing into the hands of authoritarian regimes.
‘As a global financial centre, the UK is in a unique position to act and to protect against threats to the rules-based international order. Russia’s intimidation of Ukraine, and the pressure The Kremlin is putting on other European states, makes it clear we must act.’
The new inquiry came after Foreign Secretary Liz Truss announced the Government is bringing forward new legislation to toughen and expand the UK’s sanctions regime in response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
Currently the UK can only sanction people specifically linked to the destabilisation of Ukraine but the new approach will allow a broader range of individuals and businesses to be targeted.
A number of bodies have expressed concern about the scale Russian investment in London in recent years. The Kremlin in Moscow is pictured today
The Foreign Secretary said: ‘Whether you support Russia’s aggressive actions against Ukraine, or you’re of wider significance to the Kremlin, we will have the power to sanction you.’
Speaking in the Commons yesterday, Mr Tugendhat said: ‘The need to clean up the dirty money in our economy is not just about doing the right thing and standing up alongside the people of Ukraine, but about standing up for the British people, defending ourselves against the corruption that flows through our system, and making sure that our houses, our homes, are not being exploited to pay murderers on behalf of a dictator.
‘This is not a foreign problem; this is a problem for the United Kingdom to deal with at home. The strongest thing that we can do to defend Ukraine is to defend ourselves against filth and corruption in our City.’
This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk
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