Seven Russians, who are now under sanctions, have received controversial UK “golden visas” since Vladimir Putin’s regime first invaded Ukraine in 2014, the government acknowledged.
The government closed the “Level 1 investor visa” scheme in February amid a buildup of Russian forces on the border with Ukraine as it prepared to expand its occupation beyond Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.
Following the invasion, sanctions against many of Russia’s richest businessmen have become a key part of the response from the United Kingdom and its allies.
The measures also raised embarrassing questions for the government, with critics accusing it of offering an open door to kleptocrats and oligarchs, who in some cases are believed to have expropriated wealth from the Russian state on a massive scale. Much of this wealth has been used to buy luxury properties in London.
The Gold Visa Scheme has allowed people with at least £ 2 million in investment funds and a UK bank account to apply for residence rights with their families. Prior to 2018, it is believed that minimal checks were carried out on investors or the source of their wealth.
The government has revealed that 10 Russians who have received gold visas are now subject to sanctions, an increase from the eight previously allowed, in a written response to a question from Stephen Kinnock, Labor’s shadow immigration minister.
Kevin Foster, junior interior minister, said that seven of these 10 Russian citizens “either received initial leave or received additional leave on the route after 2014.”
The government declined to name the people who received the visas, despite requests from the Labor and Spotlight on Corruption group.
In 2014, David Cameron, then prime minister, said Russia must “choose the path of diplomacy and de-escalation, or face growing isolation and tougher and tougher sanctions”. However, the latest figures suggest that the government continues to issue visas to Russian citizens, who are now seen by officials as playing a key role in supporting the Putin regime.
“Putin’s invasion of Crimea obviously had to be a fork in the way the British government views Russian oligarchic investors,” Kinok said. Therefore, it cannot be believed that even after Putin’s threat to Western security and British interests was exposed, the Conservative government continued to award first-level grants (investors) to seven of Putin’s closest associates. will be sanctioned later.
Spotlights on corruption said the latest revelation made it even more urgent for the government to publish a 2018 report on the gold visa scheme. A minister pledged to publish it last month, but the government has not yet done so.
Susan Hawley, the group’s chief executive, said: “This is convincing evidence of the overtly shocking complacency in the UK government about Russian money coming to the UK, even after Russia launched its aggression against Ukraine in 2014.
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“The golden visa regime increasingly resembles a state-sponsored kleptocracy scheme. The lessons need to be learned about the visa regime for the United Kingdom as a whole. ”
An Interior Ministry spokesman said: “We have made it clear that we will not tolerate abuse of our immigration system and have closed the Level 1 route (investor) with immediate effect to ensure that those who have earned dirty money , will not gain access to the United Kingdom
“We want to make it clear that the United Kingdom is not a safe haven for those who allow the Putin regime. By applying the largest and most severe package of sanctions in the history of the United Kingdom, we continue to fight against these individuals and ensure that they pay the price.
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