Governments disagree.
March 3 2022
For years, Londoners have largely ignored the wealthy Russian oligarchs living among them.
So, too, were they aware a couple of miles away in Belgravia, where Londoners have renamed Eaton Square “Red Square,” due to its high concentration of Russian tycoon homeowners – among them Roman Abramovich and Oleg Deripaska, two billionaires closely allied with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In three decades, London has established itself as the global hub of choice for Russian “dirty” money. Russian oligarchs are believed to have siphoned money from Russian state assets, often with Mr. Putin’s assistance or approval. They eventually transferred that wealth to the U.K. for safekeeping and investment – which the country welcomed with few questions, according to
a 2020 intelligence and security parliamentary committee report.
The mood in Britain began to turn against Russian oligarchs even before the invasion. On Feb. 17, the government
axed the so-called “golden visa” program introduced in 2000, which granted residency to wealthy foreigners in exchange for large-scale investments – the larger, the more quickly the visa would be granted. Many Russian millionaires were among the recipients.
April 4 2022
US authorities accused Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg of conspiring to commit bank fraud and money laundering as his mega yacht was seized in Spain on Monday.
Vekselberg, who was born in Ukraine but founded Russia-based conglomerate Renova Group, saw his yacht named Tango seized by Spanish investigators after the US and Western allies hit him with sanctions.
The warrant alleged that “Vekselberg caused payments for the TANGO to be run through various shell companies in order to prevent US financial institutions from accurately executing their KYC [Know Your Customer] controls and in order to avoid the filing of SARs [Suspicious Activity Reports] related to his financial transactions.”
The FBI warrant said the alleged scheme is tied to web of little known companies that have financial interest in Vekselberg’s yacht. Many of these small corporations link back to the Russian billionaire, the bureau said.
The FBI added that the alleged scheme has been ongoing since 2011.