Priti Patel scraps golden visas in Brexit Britain ‘corruption’ crackdown

The Home Office confirmed that the Tier 1 investor visa route will be shut to new applicants from all nationalities with immediate effect. According to the Government, some cases gave rise to security concerns. This includes people who amassed wealth illegitimately as well as being linked to corruption more widely.

Anyone who was eligible for the visa must have at least £2 million in investment funds and have a UK bank account.

The announcement comes amid concerns about Russia’s influence in the UK as tensions rise about a potential invasion of Ukraine.

It has been under review due to repeated concerns that the system could be exploited because not enough background checks are made on applicants.

Labour former minister, Chris Bryant, has previously called for a full review of the scheme, accusing the Government of “giving out golden visas to dodgy Russian oligarchs”.

He said the system is used as a “backdoor loophole” to funnel dirty money into the UK.

In 2018, a report published by the Foreign Affairs Committee, which at that time included Ms Patel as a member, accused ministers of risking national security by “turning a blind eye” to the Russian “dirty money” flowing through the City of London.

Concerns over the practice of issuing golden visas were raised during this inquiry which found that despite the outcry over the Salisbury Novichok nerve agent attack, Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and his allies were continuing to use London as a base for their “corrupt assets”.

Ms Patel said: “I have zero tolerance for abuse of our immigration system. Under my New Plan for Immigration, I want to ensure the British people have confidence in the system, including stopping corrupt elites who threaten our national security and push dirty money around our cities.”

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“Closing this route is just the start of our renewed crackdown on fraud and illicit finance. We will be publishing a fraud action plan, while the forthcoming Economic Crime Bill will crack down on people abusing our financial institutions and better protect the taxpayer.”

Members of parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee warned in 2020 that more work needed to be done to tackle “the illicit financial dealings of the Russian elite” including overhauling the Tier 1 investor visa system.

London has long been dubbed “Londongrad” or “Moscow-on-Thames” as the city of choice for rich Russians and other wealthy residents of former Soviet republics.

From Russian oligarchs to Middle Eastern oil barons to newly-minted Chinese entrepreneurs, foreign buyers drove a spending spree on London property in the past 30 years, snapping up everything from opulent homes to iconic commercial property.

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Hundreds of billions of dollars from Russia flowed into London and Britain’s overseas territories after the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, raising fears among some allies that illicit money was cascading into the global financial system.

Tory MP David Davis tweeted: “I’m glad the Home Secretary has taken action to shut the golden visa scheme and stop potentially dirty money entering the UK. Next, we should examine all Russian and Chinese visas granted under this scheme to see if they would warrant the issuing of an unexplained wealth order.”

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran tweeted: “Shutting the door to Putin’s cronies is not enough – too many of them have already walked through it with virtually no questions asked.”

She called on the Government to publish a report into those who currently hold and came to the UK on golden visas.

Meanwhile, sentiment in eastern Europe continued to leave its mark on markets all around the world on Thursday, causing London’s top shares to drop heavily into the red again.

The FTSE 100 closed down 0.9 percent, or 66.41 points, to 7,537.37.

Its drop was led by miner Evraz, which operates in Russia and elsewhere, British Airways owner IAG, and Shell, among others.

It is just days since the Kremlin claimed it planned to pull troops back from the border with Ukraine, sending markets soaring.

However, the situation has escalated with Moscow expelling a senior US diplomat and Washington warning Russia might invade within “several days”.

The Ministry of Defence meanwhile said that Russia retains a significant military presence and that the country can conduct an invasion without further warning.

There were clashes in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine on Thursday further worrying the West that this might be Russia seeking an excuse to invade.