Russian money hidden in British assets and laundered through City of London financial institutions damages the government’s efforts to take a tough stance against Moscow’s aggressive foreign policy, a committee of lawmakers said on Monday.
Britain’s financial center has been a big beneficiary of the massive flight of Russian cash since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, and London remains the Western capital of choice for the oligarchs and Russian officials who flaunt their wealth across Europe’s most luxurious destinations.
But Britain has led an international diplomatic backlash against Russia following the poisoning of an ex-Russian spy in an English city – an attack which the government blames on the Kremlin. Moscow has denied any involvement in the incident. Read more