BORIS JOHNSON REJECTS CALL rejects call for a crackdown to stop London being a “laundromat” for illicit Russian cash. The UK already has “some of the strongest controls in the world”, the prime minister’s spokesman insisted.

BORIS JOHNSON REJECTS CALL rejects call for call for a crackdown to stop London being a “laundromat” for illicit Russian cash.
The UK already has “some of the strongest controls in the world”, the prime minister’s spokesman insisted.
Downing Street also poured cold water on the report’s call for stronger action against peers who “work directly for major Russian companies linked to the Russian state”.
No 10 is “confident” that the House of Lords is able to oversee proper rules on registration of donations to its members, the spokesman said.
The comments come after Mr Johnson sparked anger by ruling out – within one hour of the intelligence and security committee’s report – an investigation into “potential” Russian interference in the Brexit referendum.
The study warned the UK’s investor visa scheme has been abused by Russians, providing “ideal mechanisms by which illicit finance could be recycled through what has been referred to as the London ‘laundromat’”.
“The money was also invested in extending patronage and building influence across a wide sphere of the British establishment – PR firms, charities, political interests, academia and cultural institutions were all willing beneficiaries of Russian money, contributing to a ‘reputation laundering’ process,” it stated
The current rules to stamp it out were “not preventative but rather constitute damage limitation”. Independant