Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Why does the UK seem so slow at acting against Putin’s oligarchs?

Why does the UK seem so slow at acting against Putin’s oligarchs?

Analysis: from legal threats to a lack of resources, there are many reasons why Britain may be dragging its heels

The world has watched as France and Germany have seized superyachts to prevent their oligarch owners evading sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine. Yet – to the bemusement of allies – in Britain it is still legal for many Kremlin-linked businessmen to sell their assets.

MPs from the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, to Conservative party backbenchers lined up on Wednesday to ask Boris Johnson why the government has not yet personally targeted many of the individuals who have grown rich under Vladimir Putin.

In private, EU governments are also trying to work out why the UK has been slow to act, and Frans Timmermans, the European Commission’s first vice-president on Thursday hinted at the frustrations in public.

Johnson has promised to publish a list of people in Britain deemed to have links with Putin’s regime, while the cabinet minister Michael Gove is reported to be in favour of seizing homes and offering them as housing to Ukrainian refugees.

On Thursday evening the UK Foreign Office announced sanctions against Alisher Usmanov, the billionaire formerly linked to British football clubs, and Igor Shuvalov, a former deputy prime minister of Russia. Both have been linked to expensive properties in London.

Yet signs of any further concrete action against the oligarchs are limited. What are the reasons why the government may be dragging its feet?

Political neglect


There is a persistent sense among anti-corruption experts that exposing dirty money flowing through the UK – and particularly through London – is not a high political priority.

“Even without the invasion, with Russia I think this government has been caught on the back foot,” said Tom Keatinge, a financial crime expert at the thinktank Rusi. “I just think it is something the prime minister has not ever thought he needed to focus on.”

Whitehall sources stress there is now significant political will to change the UK’s status as a haven for oligarchs – including internal pressure from senior cabinet ministers.

But the Conservative party will also be mindful of how it has benefited from Russian largesse – most recently £80,000 from Lubov Chernukhin, the wife of a former Putin minister. Chernukhin has denounced the invasion. The Conservative party chair, Ben Elliot, runs a luxury concierge service whose marketing has offered to help Russians buy property in London and find elite private schools.

Legal threats from oligarchs


Sanctions are a powerful weapon, but oligarchs can challenge them with expensive lawyers – at least, from those solicitors who can stomach reputational damage.

Meanwhile, billionaire oligarchs have a huge incentive to spend whatever necessary to have sanctions removed. “There’s not equality of arms,” said Bill Browder, a US financier turned anti-corruption campaigner. He describes UK law enforcement as risk averse.

“In my experience over the last 10 years I’ve seen that the UK law enforcement capabilities when it comes to economic crime are at the bottom of the league table in this part of the world,” he said.

The government has brought in “unexplained wealth orders” to force suspects to explain their wealth or else face confiscation, but has so far only used them against four people. One attempt ended in failure, with a court in 2020 rejecting an order against relatives of a former president of Kazakhstan.

Lack of skills and resources


Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, said on Monday that the UK has a “hitlist” of oligarchs, and that the Foreign Office had hired extra lawyers and tripled the number of people in the sanctions department.

But there is widespread internal frustration that preparatory work for legal cases against a number of individuals has only just now begun, after months of warning about a Russian invasion.

Labour’s foreign affairs spokesperson, David Lammy, said the small number of sanctioned oligarchs was “totally unacceptable” a week after Russia’s invasion started. “Ministers had months to prepare for this eventuality, with the full support of parliament,” he said.

UK caution


The Russian invasion has been the first new test of the sanctions regime since the UK left the EU. There is some evidence that the evidentiary standard the UK was applying was slightly higher than the EU.

Government sources have blamed additional barriers brought in after a proposed amendment to sanctions law in 2018, by crossbench peer Lord Pannick, which they claim added an additional evidence burden.

It meant ministers had to apply a proportionality test and give individuals reasons why they had had sanctions placed on them. But Pannick told the Guardian there was little material difference with the EU regime, a view shared by other legal experts.

The UK seems to be taking a more cautious legal approach regardless, which one Whitehall source put down to the newness of the system.

Jasper Helder, a sanctions expert at Akin Gump, a US law firm, said: “The FCDO, they want to be careful that they have the appropriate evidence to support the correct application of designation authority.”

Open for business


Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge, who has campaigned for tougher corruption laws, linked the slow action on sanctioning oligarchs to the UK allowing itself to “become a jurisdiction of choice for kleptocrats”.

Hodge said she believed that the government had been swayed against tougher action by the City, anxious to avoid extra costs and, in some cases, lost business. Parts of the financial services sector are “not just colluding with but facilitating dirty money”, Hodge said.

The broader services sector has also come under scrutiny. Henry Pryor, a buying agent and property expert, said: “We have historically made it too easy for people to own property without stepping into the sunshine.”

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
EU Proposes Phasing Out Russian Oil and Gas by End of 2027 to End Energy Dependence
More Than 150,000 Followers for a Fictional Character: The New Influencers Are AI Creations
EU Prepares for War
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Druzhba Pipeline Incident Sparks Geopolitical Tensions
Cost of Opposition Leader Péter Magyar's Economic Plan Revealed
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Budapest Central European Fashion Week Kicks Off
U.S. Celebrates Labor Day
Hungarian National Team Captain Scores Epic Goal
×