The Conservative government has been accused of generously issuing “golden passports” to Russian oligarchs shortly after the annexation of Crimea to Russia in 2014.
The Johnson administration has been tough on the Putin regime since its invasion of Ukraine in February. Basic way to do it? The imposition of sanctions in Moscow in general and on Russian oligarchs in particular.
But it is now being revealed by the government and Secretary of State Kevin Foster that the British side is taking a hard line after the holiday, as sanctions were imposed on seven Russian oligarchs, who had obtained “golden visas” after 2014 and Putin’s first invasion of Ukraine, in the Crimean region.
British government program for “golden passports”
Why does this put the British side in a difficult position and what is the peculiarity of the golden visas? As it turns out, for many years the British state “generously” distributed “gold passports” to Russian businessmen without paying much attention to where the money came from.
In fact, in 2014, the then British Prime Minister David Cameron had warned the Russian side that it would “proceed with increasing sanctions and gradual isolation of Moscow, if it does not choose the path of diplomacy and de-escalation” for Crimea.
Britain, however, continued this controversial program and treated Russian oligarchs as investors in Britain. In fact, data show that in just one year, between 2020 and 2021, 82 such visas were issued to Russian millionaires, while from 2008 to 2015, more than 700 Russian “investors” acquired the right of permanent residence on British soil.
Susan Holey, executive director of the anti-corruption NGO Spotlight on Corruption, called the program “government-sponsored aid to kleptocracy” and described it as “disgusting to the government’s oligarchy against the influx of Russian money.” .
What are the British “golden visas”
The step to stop the British side from smuggling Russian money into the UK proved to be quite difficult. In order to grant the now-controversial “golden visas” they received in return at least two million pounds in the form of investments from the Russian oligarchs or anyone else who wanted to take his stay in the country with confidence. In fact, if someone invested 10 million pounds, they could speed up the process of obtaining a permanent residence permit from five years to two.
It is noted that the specific program of issuing “golden passports” was stopped in February by the Johnson government, after 14 years of implementation, due to Russian aggression in Ukraine.
Zoe Katzagiannaki, London
Source: Deutsche Welle
Source: Capital
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