ZCZC
BFF-05
BRITAIN-RUSSIA-CRIME-CORRUPTION
Britain clamping down on suspect Russian money in UK
LONDON, Feb 3, 2018 (AFP) – Russian oligarchs suspected of corruption
will be forced to explain their wealth in a new British clampdown on
organised crime, Security and Economic Crime Minister Ben Wallace said
Saturday.
Officials will use new unexplained wealth orders (UWOs), which came into
effect this week, to seize suspicious assets and hold them until they have
been properly accounted for, Wallace told The Times newspaper.
Wallace said he wanted the “full force of the government” to come down on
corrupt politicians and international criminals using Britain as a haven.
“When we get to you we will come for you, for your assets and we will make
the environment that you live in difficult,” he said.
Officials estimate that around œ90 billion ($127 billion, 102 billion
euros) of illegal funds are laundered through Britain every year.
Speaking of Russian involvement, Wallace highlighted the so-called
Laundromat case in which ghost companies — many based in Britain — were
used to launder Russian money through Western banks.
“What we know from the Laundromat expose is that certainly there have been
links to the (Russian) state. The government’s view is that we know what they
are up to and we are not going to let it happen any more,” Wallace said.
“Beneath the gloss there is real nastiness,” he said of international
crime lords.
“We are going to go after these iconic individuals, whether they are known
about in their local community or known about internationally.”
UWOs allow the British authorities to freeze and recover property if
individuals are unable to explain how they acquired assets in excess of
œ50,000.
Wallace said that a lawmaker from a country where MPs do not receive big
salaries, who suddenly buys a luxury townhouse in central London, would have
to prove how they paid for it.
“We will seize that asset, we will dispose of it and we will use the
proceeds to fund our law enforcement,” he said.
“I have put pressure on the law enforcement agencies to use them (UWOs)
soon.”
BSS/AFP/MRI/0830 hrs