Loading AI tools
Russian money in London is the flow of capital from Russia to the United Kingdom since the dissolution of the Soviet Union which has had a noticeable impact on the London economy. Colloquially the impact of the capital flow is referred to as "Londongrad" and "Moscow-on-Thames".[1]
Russian money has been prevalent in London since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991,[1] following which many Russian oligarchs sought to invest their wealth in other countries.[2] British Government policy encouraged the flow of foreign capital into the United Kingdom, for example through the foreign investor visa routes, introduced during John Major's premiership in 1994, one-fifth of whose recipients since 2008 are Russian citizens.[1] Additional funds flow to British overseas territories, commonly used as tax havens, such as the Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands.[3] The concept[which?] is commonly associated with the terms "Londongrad" and "Moscow-on-Thames".[1]
Over £27bn is invested by Russian citizens in the United Kingdom.[3] Amongst the investments are Premier League football clubs, Scottish country estates, and the Evening Standard.[4] Tate art institution was supported by Viktor Vekselberg and Peter Aven.[5] Alexander Mamut invested £100m to Waterstones bookstore chain after acquiring it in 2011 for £53m. According to its managing director James Daunt, the intervention saved Waterstones, which managed to make its first annual profit since 2008 in 2016.[6] He later remarked that continued Russian ownership would've been "catastrophic" for the chain in 2022.[7]
According to Transparency International, at least £1.5bn is invested into UK property by Russians "accused of financial crime or with links to the Kremlin".[8] In 2018, following the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, a report titled "Moscow's Gold: Russian Corruption in the UK" was published by the Foreign Affairs Committee.[9] In 2020, the Intelligence and Security Committee said that the influence of Russian business was so deeply embedded in the British financial system that it "cannot be untangled".[3][10]
Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine there was a political desire to take action against UK-based oligarchs. Unexplained wealth orders are expected to be better enforced and foreign investor routes[which?] scrapped. The Economic Crime Bill was also revived and it includes a register to improve transparency of ultimate land ownership, currently obscured through the use of shell companies.[11] Reuters reported that some Russian citizens have been making ownership changes and consulting lawyers to shield their assets.[3]
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
