Russian oligarchs will have to account for wealth

Russian oligarchs suspected of corruption will be forced to explain how they acquired their lavish lifestyles in the UK, a Government minister has said.

Around £90bn of illegal funds is laundered through the UK every year, a shady world recently highlighted by TV series McMafia.

Security minister Ben Wallace has told The Times that those using Britain as a haven for ill-gotten gains would be the target of new unexplained wealth orders (UWO), which came into effect this week.

These allow the Government to seize property if individuals cannot explain how they acquired assets of more than £50,000.

UWOs can apply to all nationalities but Russians are expected to be a specific target.

Mr Wallace said: "When we get to you, we will come for you, for your assets and we will make the environment that you live in difficult."

He said he hoped that the success of McMafia, based on the book by journalist Misha Glenny, would help raise awareness of the issue.

He said: "So far it's very close to the truth.

"The international nature of organised crime and the impunity with which some of these people operate and the brutality of it, is absolutely correct."

He added: "McMafia is one of those things where you realise that fact is ahead of fiction.

"It's a really good portrayal of sharp-suited wealthy individuals, but follow the money and it ends up with a young girl getting trafficked for sex.

"Beneath the gloss there is real nastiness."

One of the most famous cases involving corruption was the so-called Laundromat case, where ghost companies used to launder dirty Russian money through western banks.

Mr Wallace said: "What we know from the Laundromat expose is that certainly there have been links to the (Russian) state.

"The Government's view is that we know what they are up to and we are not going to let it happen anymore."

Britain's property market has been a particular target for those trying to stash dirty money, with the National Crime Agency warning three years ago that this was driving up prices.

Despite a poor record of recovering illegally obtained assets, there were still some oligarchs who had their property confiscated under the previous rules.

These include Mukhtar Ablyazov, a Kazakh accused of embezzlement, and disgraced banker Elena Kotova.

(SKYNEWS)