Billionaire Russian oligarchs were welcomed to London

Multi-millionaire Russians were welcomed to Britain with “open arms” after the Soviet Union’s collapse in the early 1990s enabled a generation of entrepreneurs to get rich quick, the Russia report says.

They were drawn to “Londonistan” by a combination of the UK’s “light touch” approach to business regulations and the attraction of rapid rewards from putting money into British companies and the capital’s booming housing market.

The Intelligence and Security Committee said the UK’s investor visa scheme – introduced by John Major’s government in 1994 – was a key factor in London’s appeal to Moscow’s nouveau riche.

“The UK welcomed Russian money, and few questions – if any – were asked about the provenance of this considerable wealth,” the ISC said.

Some of the new arrivals exploited this country’s liberal business regime to recycle their dubiously acquired riches through the London “laundromat”.

Much Russian money was also used for “reputation laundering”, with donations made to political parties, charities, universities and cultural bodies.

“Russian influence in the UK is ‘the new normal’, and there are a lot of Russians with very close links to [President Vladimir] Putin who are well integrated into the UK business and social scene, and accepted because of their wealth.”

The ISC said the influx created a “growth industry of enablers” – professionals such as lawyers, accountants, estate agents and public relations advisers – who have helped extend their Russian clients extend their influence “which is often linked to promoting the nefarious interests of the Russian state”.

Large private security industry

Britain’s Russian elite is protected by a large private security industry which also seeks kompromat – damaging information about competitors – and occasionally helps oligarchs launder cash through offshore shell companies and fabricate ‘due diligence’ reports.

“The links of the Russian elite to the UK – especially where this involves business and investment – provide access to UK companies and political figures, and thereby a means for broad Russian influence in the UK.

“To a certain extent, this cannot be untangled and the priority now must be to mitigate the risk and ensure that, where hostile activity is uncovered, the tools exist to tackle it at source,” the committee said.

A Government spokesman said: “The Government is clear that tackling illicit finance and driving dirty money and money launderers out of the UK is a priority.”