Russian oligarchs abandoning the UK in favour of Malta and Cyprus
The Financial Times reports on how Russian oligarchs are feeling the pinch of the fallout between Russian and the United Kingdom due to last year’s Skripal poisoning in Salisbury.
As a consequence, Malta is now being seen as a preferable alternative to the United Kingdom.
Natasha Semyonova-Bateman, from Axton, a London based company that helps Russians relocate to the UK, is quoted by the Financial Times as saying that a result of the UK’s hardening stance on Russia oligarchs, Malta and Cyprus were now seen as more desirable destinations for wealthy Russians.
The Financial Times reports on how Russian oligarchs in the United Kingdom are starting to feel the pinch as a result of last year’s Skripal poisoning fallout and with Chelsea Football Club’s Russian owner Roman Abramovich the most high-profile target of the UK’s new cold war with the Kremlin.
The British government is also making progress on cleaning up dirty money flowing from Russia, with the Home Office introducing draft laws for a public register that will require foreign companies that own or buy property in the UK to provide details of their ultimate owners.
There is also separate move to freeze assets of suspected foreign criminals through the use of unexplained wealth orders (UWOs).