Britain may seize suspicious assets of 130 foreigners, most of them Russians

British authorities are investigating the origin of the funds of 130 wealthy foreigners, most of them Russians, writes The Times. All of them can be presented with requests for the origin of the state - Unexplained wealth orders (UWO), allowing you to freeze assets until their legality is confirmed.

• The Times about the list of foreigners told The director of economic and cybercrime at the British National Crime Agency (NCA) Donald Thun . According to him, "from 120 to 140 people" are considered as UWO addressees. It's about corrupt elites and their illegal wealth, he added. Tun did not comment on the citizenship of the future victims, but, according to a source in the government of The Times, "a very significant part" of these people are Russians or are somehow connected with Russia.
• In addition, the British authorities are checking the validity of issuing Tier 1 investor visas to Russians, similar to the one that was never renewed for Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich (he has since received an Israeli passport and, according to The Sun tabloid, withdrew his application for a British visa) . At the end of March, British Home Secretary Amber Rudd said that the country's authorities would check hundreds of visas issued to wealthy Russians. At the same time, it was reported that 700 Russians who received investment visas in 2008-2015 would be subject to verification.

Quote

“The Salisbury attack accelerated our work with the money of the corrupt elites ... It, by definition, increased the volume of work with corrupt or politically exposed (PEP) people from Russia,” The Times source in the UK government

Context

• Act The Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWO) - arrest warrants for foreign property of unknown origin, the owner of which is required to prove the purity of their assets, was adopted in the UK in February 2018. We wrote in detail about how it works here .
• British authorities have promised to investigate the origin of Russian money in the country after the assassination attempt on Sergei and Yulia Skripal and the conflict between the countries. “People want to see how law enforcement agencies are prosecuting very rich people who are associated with Vladimir Putin, <…> those whose wealth could be the result of their relationship with him,” British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said at the . time We'll come for their money. We're already doing it."

Peter Myronenko