Russian money has been prevalent in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

since the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

in 1991, following which many Russian oligarchs sought to invest their wealth in other countries. British Government policy encouraged the flow of foreign capital into the United Kingdom, for example through the foreign investor visa routes, introduced during

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...

's premiership in 1994, one-fifth of whose recipients since 2008 are Russian citizens. Additional funds flow to British overseas territories, commonly used as tax havens, such as the

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the ...

and

British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Brit ...

. The concept is commonly associated with the terms "Londongrad" and "Moscow-on-Thames". Over £27bn is invested by Russian citizens in the United Kingdom. Amongst the investments are

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

football clubs, Scottish country estates, and The

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

art institution was supported by Viktor Vekselberg and

Peter Aven Petr Olegovich Aven (also transliterated Pyotr Aven; russian: Пëтр Олегович Авен; Latvian: Pjotrs Avens; born 16 March 1955) is a Russian oligarch, businessman, economist and politician who also holds Latvian citizenship. Until M ...

. Alexander Mamut invested £100m to Waterstones bookstore chain after acquiring it in 2011 for £53m. According to its managing director James Daunt, the intervention saved Waterstones, which managed to make its first annual profit since 2008 in 2016. He later remarked that continued Russian ownership would've been "catastrophic" for the chain in 2022. According to Transparency International, at least £1.5bn is invested into UK property by Russians "accused of financial crime or with links to the Kremlin". In 2018, following the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, a report titled "Moscow's Gold: Russian Corruption in the UK" was published by the Foreign Affairs Committee. In 2020, the

Intelligence and Security Committee The Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament (ISC) is a statutory joint committee of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, appointed to oversee the work of the UK intelligence community. The committee was established in 1994 by the ...

said that the influence of Russian business was so deeply embedded in the British financial system that it "cannot be untangled". Following the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

there was a political desire to take action against UK-based oligarchs.

Unexplained wealth order An unexplained wealth order (UWO) is a type of court order issued by a Judiciaries of the United Kingdom, British court to compel the target to reveal the sources of their Black money, unexplained wealth. UWOs were introduced by sections 1–2 of ...

s are expected to be better enforced and foreign investor routes scrapped. The Economic Crime Bill was also revived and it includes a register to improve transparency of ultimate land ownership, currently obscured through the use of shell companies. Reuters reported that some Russian citizens have been making ownership changes and consulting lawyers to shield their assets.

See also

References

Further reading