UK failure to tackle ‘dirty money’ led to it ‘laundering Russia’s war funds’

theguardian.com:

The government’s failure to tackle Russian kleptocrats laundering “dirty money” through the UK has led millions of pounds used to finance Putin’s invasion of Ukraine to flow through London, a powerful committee of MPs has warned.

The commons foreign affairs committee said ministers’ complacency over “morally bankrupt billionaires using the UK as a safe deposit box” had led to “assets laundered through the UK … financing President Putin’s war in Ukraine”.

“The government’s unwillingness to bring forward legislation to stem the flow of dirty money is likely to have contributed to the belief in Russia that the UK is a safe haven for corrupt wealth,” the report said.

“Although ministers have spoken eloquently in the House about the need to clamp down on kleptocrats, rhetoric has not been matched by constructive action. Meanwhile, corrupt money has continued to flow into the UK.”

Tom Tugendhat, a Conservative MP, and chair of the foreign affairs committee, said the UK’s consistent failure to tackle international corruption had led the UK to become “a safe haven for dirty money” which he said was “a stain on our reputation”.

“Dirty money brings corruption to our homes and turns our institutions against us,” he added. “It attacks our society and our security. For far too long successive governments have allowed malign actors and kleptocrats to wash their dirty money in the London ‘laundromat’. Complacency has left the door open to corrupt wealth taking root and morally bankrupt billionaires using the UK as a safe deposit box.”

The report said “inadequate preparation and foresight” by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) meant the government was slow to impose sanctions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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