LONDON (Reuters) – London, the world’s preeminent international financial centre, is not the place to launder Russian money, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on Wednesday.
The British parliament’s intelligence and security committee said in a report published on Tuesday that London had become a particularly favourable destination for Russian oligarchs and their money, referring to London as the “laundromat”.
“It is very very important that the good name of London, the City and the United Kingdom – when it comes to anti-money laundering legislation – is maintained,” Shapps told the BBC.
“This is not the place to come and launder money,” Shapps said. “It’s not welcome.”
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, Editing by Paul Sandle)
