Russian ‘Dirty Money’ Flowing Through London Damages Britain, say Lawmakers

The sun is seen rising over skyscrapers in the City of London financial district in London, Britain, on May 3, 2018. Toby Melville/Reuters

LONDON—Russian money hidden in British assets and laundered through City of London financial institutions damages the government’s efforts to take a tough stance against Moscow’s aggressive foreign policy, a committee of lawmakers said on Monday.

Britain’s financial centre has been a major beneficiary of the massive flight of Russian cash since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, and London remains the Western capital of choice for the oligarchs and Russian officials who flaunt their wealth across Europe’s most luxurious destinations.