London, the world’s number one international financial centre, is not the place to launder Russian money, according to transport secretary Grant Shapps.
The comments come after the UK parliament’s intelligence and security committee said yesterday that London had become a particularly favourable destination for Russian oligarchs and their money, referring to London as the “laundromat”.
“It is very very important that the good name of London, the City and the United Kingdom - when it comes to anti-money laundering legislation - is maintained,” Shapps told the BBC.
“This is not the place to come and launder money,” Shapps said. “It’s not welcome.”
Russia has become a hotspot and a home for many wealthy Russians.
Shapps also said there was no evidence of Russian meddling in the 2016 Brexit referendum, adding that UK spies did not take their eyes off the ball on Russia.
“There needs to be some evidence that there’s an issue there - which there isn’t,” Shapps told Sky when asked if there should be a further investigation of possible Russian meddling in the European Union referendum.
The committee said that there were indications that Russia had sought to influence the Brexit campaign but no hard evidence had been produced.
“I don’t think its the case that the intelligence services took their eye off the ball,” Shapps added.
