Suella Braverman briefed MPs on the golden visas review on Thursday
(Picture: Getty Images)The government’s flagship “golden visa” system used by oligarchs and other overseas tycoon to live in Britain was used by ten Russians since placed under sanctions and others at “high risk” of obtaining their wealth through corruption and crime, Suella Braverman told MPs on Thursday.
The Home Secretary said a review of the Tier I visa scheme, under which applicants were able to buy the right to live in the UK In return for a £1 million investment, had “identified a small minority of individuals .. at high risk of having obtained wealth through corruption or other illicit financial activity, and/or being engaged in serious and organised crime.”
She added that the review had also shown that “the route attracted a disproportionate number of applicants from the countries identified in the UK’s National Risk Assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing 2020 as particularly relevant to the cross-border money laundering risks faced ..by the UK.”
She said it had also found “evidence of high-risk applicants seeking out and exploiting financial institutions that had the weakest Customer Due Diligence controls” and that several “financial institutions associated with multiple high-risk migrants at the time have since been issued significant fines by the Financial Conduct Authority” over the handling of high-risk clients.”
Ms Braverman declined to give any estimate of the number of “golden visas” issued inappropriately to those with criminal backgrounds but disclosed that ten unnamed Russian oligarchs since sanctioned over their links to Vladimir Putin were among those who had used the system.
Thursday’s findings follow persistent complaints from anti-corruption campaigners that the golden visa system was being abused by corrupt oligarchs and money launderers.
The review covered 6,312 Tier 1 visas issued between 2008 and 2015 when a requirement to open a UK bank account before applying for a visa was introduced to tighten the system.
The scheme has since been abolished and Ms Braverman said she was determined to prevent future abuses. “I recognise that the UK’s openness to global business carries risks that malign actors will take advantage of our systems to pursue corrupt and criminal ends,” she said.
