Britain is accused of turning a blind eye to Russia's 'dirty money', and putting national security at risk. The parliamentary foreign affairs committee said London was used to conceal the allegations of 'dark' assets of President Vladimir Putin and his allies, the BBC reported on Monday (21/5).
It said it was business as usual for Britain, despite the poisoning of former Russian spy, Sergei Skripal and his daughter. This undermined Britain's efforts to counter President Putin's offensive, he said.
"The sluggish British response is taken as evidence that we dare not stop them, the London market allows the Kremlin's efforts," said Conservative Committee chairman and MP Conservative Tom Tugendhat.
Economic and Economic Crime Minister Ben Wallace said he was not called to provide evidence to the committee. "I'm afraid that such negligence undermines the foundations of the report," Wallace said.
Wallace said Britain was determined to drive dirty money and money launderers out. "We will use all the power we have, including new powers in the Criminal Finance Act, to pressure those who threaten our security," he added.
Tungendhat said the minister should investigate allowing the Russian government and individuals linked to President Putin to continue to raise funds in the City of London. The report, called Moscow Gold: Russian Corruption in the UK, shows that Russian gas giant Gazprom was able to trade bonds in London a few days after the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal and his daughter.
The business between Britain and Russia that has returned so quickly pushed the Russian embassy in London to whistle on Twitter: "Business as usual?".
"The scale of the damage this 'dirty money' can make for the sake of British foreign policy undermines the benefits of Russian transactions here.the UK must be clear that the Kremlin's corruption is no longer accepted in our market and we will act," Tugendhat said.
The committee's report urges the government to show a stronger political leadership on this issue by taking a number of actions. Including further sanctions against Kremlin-related individuals, closing gaps in existing sanctioning regimes, and accelerating plans to reveal transparent company ownership.