← All posts

“Dirty capital: London’s financial flows are polluted by laundered money”: Economist headline

This is a guest post by Jeremy Leggett. Views are the author's own and do not necessarily represent the opinions or positions of MyGridGB or Dr Andrew Crossland.

The Economist reports that the National Crime Agency believes international money rinsed through British banks each year is “many hundreds of billions of pounds”.

“The case for action is stronger (than for laissez faire). Predictions of severe economic damage from a crackdown are overdone. Russians and Ukrainians hold only 0.2% of total British assets owned by foreigners. Targeting iffy Russian money would reinforce Britain’s efforts to embarrass Vladimir Putin’s intelligence agencies (see article). Providing financial refuge for bent elites fuels corruption in other countries.”

Image: map from Corporation of London website