Stephen Kinnock, the shadow immigration minister, is urging Home Secretary Priti Patel to name the eight Russians on the sanctions list and publish a long-standing report on the abolished visa program. The government shut down the “first-tier investor visa” system in February as diplomatic relations with Russia came under severe pressure. One week later, Russia invaded Ukraine, prompting the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom to impose sanctions on many of Russia’s richest men in an attempt to put pressure on the Putin regime. Those on the sanctions list include Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner of Chelsea FC. Alisher Usmanov, the steel and mining tycoon described by the EU as one of Putin’s “beloved oligarchs”. and Andrey Guryev Jr., whose family reportedly owns Witanhurst, a mansion in Highgate, north London, which is London’s second largest home after Buckingham Palace. Critics have long warned that the golden visa system, under which the super-rich could effectively buy the right to reside in the United Kingdom, was open to abuse. The program allowed people with at least εκατο 2 million in investment funds and a bank account in the UK to apply for residence permits with their family. The Home Office last month pledged to publish a 2018 report on gold visas covering the period from their introduction in 2008 by the Labor government to 2015. The government has not said when it will do so. During this period, few, if any, checks were made on applicants in what the Spotlight on Corruption campaign team described as a “red carpet for dirty money.” About 3,000 millionaires bought visas at the time, more than 700 of whom were Russian. In a letter to Patel, seen by the Guardian, Kinnock wrote: government and politics more broadly. “It is simply not enough that the system is closed now and sanctions have been imposed on a small number of oligarchs. “Politicians and the public need to be able to understand the report’s findings and learn from them.” The closure of the system in February was welcomed by the entire parliament, although lawmakers expressed security concerns about those granted visas. Spotlight on Corruption reported last year that 6,312 gold visas – half of all visas ever issued – were being considered for potential national security risks. The Interior Ministry said: “After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the government has moved quickly to impose sanctions on those linked to the Putin regime and to ensure that there is no safe haven in the UK for its allies to hide dirty money. their. “The new Economic Act, which received royal approval after a speedy parliamentary vote, provides a package of tougher sanctions against those who facilitate illegal financing in the UK and empowers law enforcement agencies to investigate non-compliant entities. . “As part of the law, a new register of entities abroad also obliges impersonal foreign companies holding real estate in the UK to disclose their identities.”
