Ukraine: Act now over Russian oligarchs and ‘dirty money’ in London if sanctions against Kremlin to be effective – Rachel Reeves

Yet, watching on our TV screens, the daily stories of the incredible heroism and bravery of Ukrainians resisting their Russian aggressor is inspiring. Their courage makes us all the more determined to stand with them.

Oleksandr Zinchenko highlights power of sport with Manchester City captaincy tribute as Paralympics shamed into banning Russia and Belarus – The Yorkshire Post says

Donations and offers of community help ranging from food and clothing to medical supplies have been pouring in from people and organisations from across the country.

However, in addition to throwing our support behind Ukraine, it is vital President Vladimir Putin and his cronies feel the chill of global isolation.

That means a ferocious crackdown on Putin and his oligarchs by imposing a raft of sanctions as swiftly as possible.

Labour has already pledged we will support the Government in taking tough action against Putin. We have said we will support its proposed legislation which is due to come before the Commons this Monday while pushing for stronger and faster measures where possible.

Regrettably, we are trailing our American and European partners when it comes to sanctions. The United States and the EU have several Russian oligarchs on their sanctions list who are, as yet, absent from the UK list of individuals who face action. Why are we not pursuing them too? In Germany, the authorities have already seized a $600m super-yacht belong to a billionaire oligarch with links to Putin.

I support the measures that the Government has taken so far, but they need to go further and much faster. We need to unmask these shell companies that Putin and his associates use to conceal their billions in the UK.

We’ve experienced a decade of inaction from the Conservatives on rooting out corruption and illicit finance, with the register of foreign and beneficial ownership in the UK delayed for years, too many pathways for money laundering open, and the failure over two years to implement the recommendations of the Russia report.

Transparency is crucial if we are to take on corruption. As Sir Keir Starmer warned at Prime Minister’s Question Time, the current plans allow Putin’s cronies 18 months to quietly launder their money out of the UK into another safe haven.

We need that register in place within the next couple of weeks – not months – to put the squeeze on Putin’s dirty money now. The upcoming Economic Crime Bill is welcome, but it has loopholes which must be closed if it is going to be effective.

The Government needs to reform Companies House by amending the planned legislation to include some basic checks on company directors and ensure that Russian oligarchs no longer have fewer hoops to jump through than legitimate British businesses.

Every day of delay gives Putin and his allies a breathing space to rearrange their finances and dodge sanctions. Yet again, the Prime Minister’s actions so far are not matched by his rhetoric.

Since he became PM in 2019, Boris Johnson’s Conservatives have received around £1.93m from donors linked to Putin’s regime, according to our analysis of Electoral Commission records on donations.

Johnson and Rishi Sunak need to show the public they and the Government stand with Ukraine and not with the wealthy donors who grease the wheels of their party machine. They must speed up and widen the action against Putin’s allies and enablers.

Otherwise, a sceptical public could be forgiven for thinking there are more individuals with Russian links on the Tory donor list than there are Putin allies on the UK’s sanctions list.

The public want to see the Government moving much faster to freeze assets – including the multi-million pound mansions and luxury yachts of Putin’s plutocrats.

The Prime Minister could learn a lesson from those British businesses that have moved swiftly to further isolate Putin. Global giants ranging from car-makers to tech and entertainment companies are refusing to have anything to do with his regime that systematically siphoned away the wealth of the Russian people who are victims of his band of kleptocrats.

For far too long, Britain has been a comfortable refuge for Putin’s cronies to stash their dirty money and build huge property empires here through their labyrinthine networks of shell companies that are often based in overseas tax havens.

We need to break open the shell companies and bring in the long-overdue register of overseas property owners and their beneficiaries within days, not months.

The Government’s failure to act on the Russia Report and delay much-needed measures have benefited Putin and his friends. Labour is keen to work with the Government. But we must ensure these measures also have teeth – we need them now when they are most needed.

We must stand by the brave people of Ukraine and against Putin and those who seek to destroy democracy and freedom. Tackling dirty money that has been laundered in our country 
by despotic regimes is long overdue.

Rachel Reeves is the Shadow Chancellor and Labour MP for Leeds West.

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