Why oligarchs choose London for their dirty money

Britain is one of the best places in the world to launder dirty money. Our new film tells you why-and asks whether that's likely to change.
00:00 - Welcome to Londongrad
01:07 - Londongrad by design: a history
04:28 - How does British law help money laundering?
06:57 - How dirty money is hidden in property
09:26 - Why Britain's anti-corruption efforts fall short
10:49 - Does oligarch money actually benefit Britain?
12:08 - How can Britain get it right?
Sign up to our weekly finance newsletter to keep up to date: econ.st/3P3zTG8
Britain’s history of welcoming dirty money: econ.st/3FtvCHQ
Why is London so attractive to tainted foreign money? econ.st/390Iw3z
How can Britain’s dirty money problem be solved? econ.st/3vU5X82
How oligarchs have impacted cities around the world: econ.st/3w1Ev8t
Who will fill London’s Russian money gap? econ.st/3kQaZMm
How will the end of oligarch money impact European football? econ.st/3kPe2Et
Why oligarchs love European data-protection laws: econ.st/395PTqQ

[@VokeVideo]

An oligarch in London saying "Oligarchs in London will have nowhere to hide"...

[@axelmanuel18]

Because they don't need to hide

[@monsoonrains8480]

More money from my country (Pakistan) is invested in london alone in the past 10 years than Pakistan itself.

[@mefisto05s.20]

Lol, why would anyone invest in pakistan? It lives on imf, saudi, us and Chinese money

[@brigingthemap]

The same for India

[@eben3357]

The Invisible Hand...

[@bigdramashow9934]

The British government is very discriminatory in its own favour. For over 20 years now Russian oligarchs he e been embraced with their laundered money 💴 and the British government was quite happy with that. British government used those big coffers of launders money together with Russian oligarchs and everybody were ok with that.

[@nenaradicevic8079]

Imran khan is guilty for your oligarchs

[@roylangston4305]

It's pretty simple: the privileged know the UK is devoted to preserving the privileges of the privileged.

[@vkrgfan]

Nicely put, if UK really cared or had some decency they wouldn’t allow money laundering in the first place.

[@snowbird6855]

Canada is the same, it's called snow washing.

[@extremeresponsibility4325]

Then pretend to be noble 😆

[@sanataj]

...and weapons sales...

[@davidb8373]

Hasn’t that always been the situation? Hasn’t the British class system always protected the wealthy?

[@mariuszmusiaka9692]

In my opinion The City of London supported Brexit to protect their clients' secrecy & profits and avoid EU regulation including AML (current and future regulations). Money laundering is just part of the British business model.

[@charleswhite758]

Why do you keep calling it "money laundering"? It's legally held money. Approved by President Putin, who makes the laws.

[@charleswhite758]

@@Hartley_Hare If not "legally", they would be within the Russian prison system, surely? What is so unclear about that? Do the Russian legal authorities and tax authorities not know about the existence of these huge yachts and luxury mansions in London? Indeed they do and they take no action, because no law or regulation whatsoever has been broken. So no "money-laundering" is involved.

[@charleswhite758]

@@Hartley_Hare Not sure what you mean by that, but usually the judges of whether law is "fallible" or not are the law-courts. The Russian law-courts have not convicted any of the Russians recently sanctioned by the west, certainly not for theft of public funds nor for illegal export of funds, nor for acquisition of foreign assets. So zero money-laundering.

[@charleswhite758]

@@Hartley_Hare You are a bit vague, law is not vague. Either something is legal or illegal. Your moral opinions are of no consequence to the law. You may not approve of Russian, Chinese or Ethiopian laws or legal systems, that does not affect anything.

[@reallybigjohnson]

This has been going on long before, decades before Brexit so this has nothing to do with Brexit at all.

[@bigdramashow9934]

The British government is very discriminatory in its own favour. For over 20 years now Russian oligarchs he e been embraced with their laundered money 💴 and the British government was quite happy with that. British government used those big coffers of launders money together with Russian oligarchs and everybody were ok with that.

[@davidty2006]

it's been happening since the soviet union...

[@marshallj1077]

You really don’t understand central banking

[@ronjoshuaramos4480]

Hi, I wanna ask, shell company stands for means? Tysm

[@avarmauk]

It doesn’t surprise me so much. I’ve come to expect this now. I try to remember two facts. Governments always act in their own interest and governments are willing to do anything provided they think they can get away with it.

[@ssuwandi3240]

Do you have alternative solutions mate? You should be grateful the foreigners are willing to take hustle since your Government got great talent of printing money!! Try to demand more from your lazy Corrupt Parrygate Gov!!

[@alir.6441]

The same holds for Azerbaijani bureaucrats too. Massive amounts of stolen (especially oil) money is invested in London every year.

[@dimmacommunication]

Everybody and their momma knows London is the Laundromat of the world , nobody cared until today cause of the war.

[@shapurzamani6127]

also for these horrendous oligarchs from SAUDI ARABIA, UAE, QATAR etc...

[@ikennahenry4003]

Plus Nigeria

[@dimmacommunication]

@@ikennahenry4003 Every corrupt uses big cites to launder , not Only London is involved.

[@95Tayyab]

and Pakistan. We all know how Nawaz Sharif owns one of the most expensive properties in London, and is currently hiding there.

[@itseamuscallan7004]

Johnson's reputation as "The Liar" is only outdone by his staggering Duplicity. Boris the Bagman between Oligarchs and Tory Bigwigs

[@michaelchiesa6142]

Johnson, yes a nauseating creature... We here in Australia have been doing our best to stomach a corrupt coalition corporate federal government for nearly a decade... Hopefully after May 21, the present incumbents will be evicted from government and will be held accountable for their attempting to turn Australia into a "banana" republican/Trump wannabe Morrison cesspool...

[@nadm.191]

And you forgot the white and non-white refugees?

[@corvus1238]

He said that there needs to be political will for anything to change. That will not happen as long as politicians get personal rake offs from the system as it is.

[@davidbryden7904]

Or "the city of London" financial system?

[@nadm.191]

completely wrong. It is about the political-economy of the system. Politicians act within it. It is inherent in the system that is driven by maximisation of profit, competition and capital accumulation. Like students, especially graduates from elite universities, they strive to fit in the system and manage it. Thus perpetuating plunder, corruption and even excuses of crimes and wars. And when you vote every 4 years you think you exercise power over them.

[@1m2rich]

Time to kick the elite sucker oners out of political power. Get our banking laws back with Progressives. Off shore has to end. It is destroying the world.

[@thebigpicture2032]

It’s also one of the drivers of Britain’s economy so whoever crashes the cart will get voted out.

[@souvikrc4499]

@@thebigpicture2032 especially with the decline of British industry from the late 20th century onwards

[@patlecat]

Not only London was sold out to Oligarchs but also Zurich.

[@dimmacommunication]

Lugano too

[@davidradtke160]

New York, Seattle, Toronto lots of major cities.

[@turtlespirit142]

@@davidradtke160 delaware loophole

[@asch5089]

or monte carlo, liechtenstein, luxembourg even the netherlands…

[@souvikrc4499]

@@turtlespirit142 even South Dakota

[@stevenhaas9622]

This is a problem in nearly every major world city. New York, LA, San Francisco, Paris, Miami are absolutely lousy with shadow money sitting in empty real estate.

[@julianbenjamin1552]

This is true. Notably, the Chinese and Middle Eastern ultranationalists deploy capital to the latest real estate developments in the world’s most regarded regions (e.g. S.F. NY and MIA)

[@crowshik]

who is selling those houses? who is earning the commission on these sales? whos is getting the stamp duty /council taxes? there's a bigger support system benefitting from all this..driven by greed.

[@LeeLee-ct2vv]

Famous British greed...

[@dimmacommunication]

Well, if you are a real estate agent you just sell the house ,that's it.

[@virtualatall]

Well it's upto city planners... Whether they want to accommodate rich taxpayers or working class people... This problem is in every major world cities.. Just London is epitome of all

[@henrybn14ar]

Not greed. Driven not by opportunity.

[@insopanasiancuisine8098]

@Vintage Bollinger no. That’s called cronie capitalism that only serves the interests of a tiny minority.

[@kathieloueldridge2974]

Having recently finished AMERICAN KLEPTOCRACY by Casey Michel, thank you for this. As he pointeedd out kleptocracy threatens to impose a world wide feudalism . The increasing divides in the Western World over the enormous wealth discrepancies that seem to broaden exponentially ahould alarm us all.

[@pcon8]

That is a fantastic book....

[@paulcasey5204]

Ranking below Italy on anti corruption measures........something to be proud of.......not! Exactly what Private Eye has been banging on about for decades

[@jec6464]

1) UK needs to introduce property taxes on properties that do not pay council tax, so that these empty houses come at a cost to the oligarchs. 2) There should be a limit on the properties purchased by entities rather than people.

[@danbee415]

its just disgusting how many unoccupied homes there are with even no occupants in london.

[@julietcrowson3503]

If the properties are lived in by real people, they become lived in, damaged and 'lise value' Ask the Lawyers...

[@dimmacommunication]

@@julietcrowson3503 Yeah , renters create only problems

[@rajarshisarkar999]

It's Legal. It is not Disgusting.

[@julietcrowson3503]

@@rajarshisarkar999 it is only legal because the lawyers are corrupt and unethical, uncaring immature money grabbers Peace 🙏☯️☮️🫂✝️

[@YutabApangan]

☘️I am an Iranian Woman and English is my 4th language. ‼️Accumulating money by small groups of people always leads to corruption, crime, human trafficking and many other catastrophe!! Interestingly Boris Johnson has came to power also by the Russian oligarchs, but now under the pressure of people he had to oppose Putin war against Ukraine‼️ ✌️🌷Free Ukraine from Putin brutality, Free Iran from barbaric regime and also free from brutal Putin and China controlling Our country!!

[@ma-tanica]

Hi, British people. If you're watching this, please help to return Nazarbayev family's money back to Kazakhstan where it all belongs. Your politicians must do something about it

[@shaun5344]

This was a really great piece. If we didn't know already it certainly demonstrates how the uber rich play the world game getting around avoiding tax and money laundering laws. The system has, and always will be, there for the super rich to exploit while the rest of us are to be made poor by our mere existence. Take Rishi Sunak for example. How can the UKs chancellor understand what the average working class person is going through when they have a personal fortune of around £300 million and whose wife is a billionaire?

[@royfearn4345]

Essentially, these oligarchs are illegal immigrants. Therefore, why can they not be deported to some central African republic on a one-way ticket? Of course, oligarchs have talking money, but surely that won't influence tories will it? What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Russian and other foreign oligarchs are far more obnoxious than asylum-seekers, so what about it, Boris? Grow a pair and take a stance!

[@nadm.191]

But one hast to dig in the Economist archive and look at how often the magazine condemned the City of London harbouring of not only Russian oligarchs but also mafia syndicates since mid 1990s.

[@roylangston4305]

That's why the rich will never permit a land value tax: they know they would not be able to avoid it.

[@nadm.191]

“The system has, and will be, there for the super rich…” That implies nihilism and the futility of the human agency to change things. Defeatism, I would say. It also ignores instances in human history, ancient and modern, where the gap between rich and poor was/has been significantly narrowed, which indicates that change is possible.

[@roylangston4305]

@@nadm.191 Yes, well, history also shows that the privileged prefer to perish in blood and flame, and watch their children slaughtered before their eyes, rather than relinquish even the smallest fraction of their unjust advantages.

[@goldengifts1193]

It is hypocritical that all these year UK did not notice what money were coming from Russia and only after political tensions have risen they have noticed that something is wrong with that money. After many times Russia have asked to extradite some of corrupted officials who fled to UK - UK is making a face as did not know how all that money came from and who was behind them.

[@extremeresponsibility4325]

They knew but preferred to reap the benefits

[@nadm.191]

It is not different from the hypocrisy and the blatant racism we have seen in the treatment of white vs. non-white refugees.

[@extremeresponsibility4325]

@@nadm.191 One thing that would be helpful with immigration policy is clearly discriminating between the skilled labor that we want versus keeping out the unskilled labor that we don’t want. Without regard to race, gender, etc.

[@tedzehnder961]

Your most famous football team was and still is I think, owned by an oligarch.People that support that team have been paying money to a Russian oligarch. Some of them who fled were guilty and some were not. You have to do a case by case.

[@nadm.191]

@Ted I think you are missing the bigger picture. Professional football is an industry and business. Owned by an oligarchs or not does not change its nature. Remember how suddenly during pandemic nurses and other frontline workers were ‘discovered’? Do you know that, according to the BBC calculator, what a nurse earns in a week, Ronaldo warns in 16 minutes? What has made a footballer more socially valuable than a nurse or a similar occupation? Yet most people accept it, cheers the footballers and once in a century they are asked to clap for the nurses! Then one needs to contextualise the time oligarchs or Middle Eastern tycoons were allowed to buy clubs, estates, etc. It was the collapse of the Soviet Union and the role the Western regimes and the International Financial Institutions played in changing the social property relations in Russia and other countries of the former USSR. The oligarchs were born through a process of plunder of public goods and public assets. That was an era hailed as the end of history and the triumph of the ‘free market’. The former head of the World Bank and now a Keynesian, Jospeh Stieglitz, stated in his Globalisation and Its Discontent that the devastation cause by Yeltsin’s regime and international, especially Western, players to Russian amounted to the scale of devastation during the Nazis invasion. That context also spawned Putin and the reinvigoration of Russian nationalism. That is how things are so interconnected.

[@zehrajafri9252]

When inspite of the large amounts spent on stopping corruption ,corruption continues, it mean's those responsible for stopping it are corrupt themselves.

[@didifischervideo]

it also could be: not enough highly trained people, not enough international data flow, not enough whistle blower - half of the money of the financial markets is "hidden in the dark". The volume of the financial markets is ten times the volume of the "Real Economy" in the world. IMHO

[@kenosabi]

Places that don't have to follow laws of the land they exist in: The Vatican City of London Washington, DC Ask yourself why that is and then ask yourself if it has anything to do with the rampant corruption in all these places.

[@davidbryden7904]

Correct. 👍 Corporate corruption is running a "shell game" with the international financial system(s). 🙄

[@andrewwilliams7390]

Isn't Washington, DC subjected to Federal Laws. I remember this being a issue that was brought up in talks about DC becoming a state, if I am not mistaken the same thing applies to Puerto Rico. The Vatican is also a country so it is only subject to Vatican law not Italian Law despite being smacked dab in the middle of Rome.

[@no-oneinparticular7264]

Corruption is in every Country

[@charleswhite758]

There is minimal corruption in the City of London, stop talking nonsense. Britain should be proud that the world trusts it so much with its money. Money is invested in the City because it is secure and profitable. The UK is politically stable and as corruption-free as can be found on this planet.

[@whereammy]

love how this comment manages to say absolutely nothing useful at all

[@petercolledge2236]

There's a piece in today's Guardian about the housing crisis in the UK. No mention whatever about the influence of oligarch money. Oligarch money in London is bigger than all the housing stock of Liverpool! Imagine.

[@charleswhite758]

Is oligarch money legal or illegal? If it's illegal, they would be in Russian jails. So it's legal under the Russian legal system. Think.

[@petercolledge2236]

@@charleswhite758 ALL oligarch money has been taken out of the country since the USSR folded. That money kept industries afloat and people in work.

[@charleswhite758]

@@petercolledge2236 "Taken out of the country" - is that illegal? I take money out of the country to buy a holiday home in Spain. That may be bad for the UK economy, but I acquired the money legally, in compliance with my nation's laws. If the money had not been legally acquired, I'd be in jail, not on hols in Spain. That's not money laundering. By the way, the real thief was the communist Soviet Union which stole all private property from its citizens.

[@petercolledge2236]

@Vintage Bollinger Perhaps as a measure of GDP.

[@Jon-mv2ck]

Guardian hypocrites in Islington have benefited the most. Liverpool a crime ridden dump that no one wants to live in. London getting they way under Kahn so no worries in a few years all the foreign money will leave anyway.

[@judiththann3279]

The buccaneers of City of London are welcoming everybody with enough wealth, nothing really nothing will be a problem.

[@yadhurajar5590]

there are lot of Indian billionaires who have large debt to banks dump their money on london

[@aryanyadav3690]

Vijay Malaya doing scam & looting Indian money, Meanwhile UK - You are so like us welcome to London 💸

[@robertskolimowski7049]

Absolutely brilliant video, Economist, super insightful, very well made and thorough👏✌

[@johngordon1175]

Why is America rarely ever criticised for doing the same if not a worse thing where they banned anyone from owning significant amounts of Gold whilst printing as much as they deemed convenient and then encouraged the UK and other countries to do the same under the banner o easing!

[@oracle8589]

Because the British are held to higher standards than anyone else. They are seen as “gentlemen” and whenever they act like everyone else people are shocked and outraged. It’s extremely exhausting and I’ve given up trying to defend it

[@Jon-mv2ck]

Because UK has more self righteous virtue signalers than most countries. Ironically most come from families that have benefited from what they complain about. Example leftwing journalists owning London rental property getting their initial money from parents who sold out to Russians etc.

[@fer23bsas]

because they play to be the gendarme of the world... and they fill their mouths with the words democracy freedom and they invade countries to crush corrupt dictators. psychopaths.

[@adriantb4624]

why when a billionaire is Russian, he is called an " oligarch " , but when he is from any Western country, it is just a " billionaire " ?

[@stuartburns8657]

Because the vast, vast majority of them originally grabbed or where given loads of USSR state assets after or during the collapse of the Soviet Union.

[@dumdumbrown4225]

@@stuartburns8657 it’s the same with most ‘old money’ billionaires in Australia, the USA, the UK, NZ or Ireland

[@stuartburns8657]

@@bsimulator No that's true, but often our elected representatives will find ways to enrich themselves either or. Just not as blatantly

[@eben3357]

@@bsimulator But the point stands, why rate the Western equivalents by numbers? Perhaps we can apply the same Greek (oligarchs, kelptocrats) because the Western thalassocracies have merely opened up opportunities by investing in and exporting violence more efficiently than our opponents.

[@eben3357]

@@bsimulator It's degrees of freedom. Gina Rinehart had no conniption requesting tax payer money for roads to be built to her privately held mines. Likewise, Bill Gates flew to Canberra and asked the Australian Government to match his commitment to promoting vaccines in Africa. You can take this how you want, but billionaires in the West are involved in and restrained by their respective and allied governments by all sorts of ways and means.

[@lordgarion514]

"The financial services sector contributed GBP 132 billion to the UK economy, 6.9% of total economic output. The sector was largest in London, where half of the sector's output was generated. "

[@JavenarchX]

Empty houses should be illegal. If it's empty for a year it should be taxed or penalized

[@wolfiestreet6899]

Which is it? Taxed or illegal?

[@ttatiana]

For half a year max

[@wolfiestreet6899]

People should be free to do what they want with their property.

[@user-xr9ln5pf7y]

That would be a way to change things a bit.

[@bdkamil95]

Actually the fact that it’s so easy to start a company in UK helps normal people the most. It’s fast, cheap and easy. And that’s what normal business owners need. It makes life of any local grocery store owner so much better. Business and tax laws should be easy and accessible. And btw if you check countries with worst life quality, poorest people etc they almost always have very complicated and expensive processes to start a business. Thats why only a few from the elite can afford it. That's how those local regimes keep its people poor.

[@Dr.afolabiorekoya]

That was exactly what I thought but the majority just want a paid job, living paycheck to paycheck. People should learn to start a business (don’t be scared even if you make a loss).

[@bdkamil95]

@@Dr.afolabiorekoya I agree

[@samsonbouillon5107]

All the opposite of France where you need to conform with a lot of bureaucratic measures ! Well, the self-employed statute allowed to make easy business creation but it's not enough !

[@Random17Game]

As someone from South Europe I can confirm

[@bdkamil95]

@Tk kirkland first of all - that’s not true. While most stores are chain stores it’s not true that local grocery stores don’t exist. Another thing is that you’ve interpreted it literally and what I meant there was just an example. That “local grocery store” is just a synonym for all local (tiny/small/medium) businesses and there’s a lot of those in the UK.

[@superpuppy7854]

Every tax office in the uk is owned by an anonymous shell company in Bermuda. Does our new found morality mean we will now discover which MPs we are leasing them from? Will they now start paying tax on the profits?

[@Telencephelon]

It's actually not that hard. Hardly any private citizen has their real estate bought through shell companies. So 1. Change the law and make anyone with a shell company provide new information to conform with the new laws (1 year grace period) 2. If within a grace period of another year the owners haven't come forward the real estate is claimed by the state and auctioned off to fill the coffers of the state to counteract the losses by the citizenship for an unfairly heated housing market

[@Telencephelon]

The law should state that people should be able to provide records and proof that at least 40% of the money come from legal sources

[@thebigpicture2032]

British economy would fall hard if they stop the cash flow. Illegal money will flow elsewhere.

[@jantelopez5626]

make buying properties from an offshore bank impossible .. why is it such a big deal.

[@Emperor-Inker]

Funny how the UK is acting like they've not done the same to Africa, Asia, Oceana, the Americas & the Middle East over the past Quincentenary (500 years). 🤷🏿‍♂️

[@simmo.261]

They also chose every major city in western civilisation. The only reason London is being picked out is because it's the easiest to link because Oligarchs use it as their choice of residence but New York has far greater amounts of dirtier money.

[@geoffreynhill2833]

When even The Economist notices we know something must be wrong. 🌈🦉

[@user-ru2qu2pt8d]

Your channel is getting better and better. Continue also!

[@absar66]

Well, it’s all a game by design....the common people may write and report volumes about it....but this will never change....in the end..”if you can’t change them, join them”.. and the cycle continues..c’est la vie...

[@davidbryden7904]

Beatniks out to make it rich!

[@fnordinvitation]

Remember when Brazil had the most corrupt government with "Car wash"? 😂😂 that was a kids play next to London and Moscow

[@ftdecastrolondon]

Brazil has the most corrupt government right now. Brazil even has its own Putin!

[@fnordinvitation]

@@ftdecastrolondon although I dislike Bolsonaro, I am pretty sure that Brazil is far better than Russia. My ex girlfriend who was Russian and lives in Brazil find Brazil to be Swtizerland next to Russia

[@ftdecastrolondon]

@@fnordinvitation It is not. Brazil has much more poverty and violence!

[@fnordinvitation]

@@ftdecastrolondon So, my ex who is Russian and lives in Brazil is wrong and you are right? Yeah, sure... In her words: "it's incredible how Brazilians are fast to fix things that are broken in the street" "20% of the budget goes in kickbacks for the government and you think that this is too much corruption? In Russia 90% of the budget serves to pay kickbacks only and the remaining 10% is to fund the project". I am pretty sure she knows better than both of us what happens in Russia.

[@rka-truthalwayswins5127]

@@fnordinvitation Switzerland is based on loot from the rest of the world!! So it's NOT really a badge of honor!! And one ex girlfriend of yours anyways can't decide what's what!! It maybe her opinion but that's it!! Period!!

[@PhilipMurray251]

your ability to break down economics for the average Joe and Jane to understand is top notch. You really need to create a course on trading stocks for the retail investors. Thanks for all this great content and information. Lastly get those likes up folks and share this video

[@Robertgriffinne]

thast reminds me of Nicole Ann Sabin, i had an increased exposure on how to navigate the market while copying her trades. it rare to see a Financial advisor who is so transparent to the point of sharing her strategies. Unfortunately for her and fortunately for me. i can now trade independently. i don't pay any percentage to her anymore

[@Natalieneptune469]

@@Robertgriffinne wow, who's this advisor, how can i find her?

[@Robertgriffinne]

@@Natalieneptune469 I can't give much details to it, Profit comes for proper trade execution. I racked up in profits $558,405 from $185k capital in august last year to be exact on my portfolio using her trade signals. I watched a news interview on where she featured during an IPO and spoke proficiently, caught only her name and did a search later online. she's quite a genius in trading and portfolio diversification.

[@marianparker7502]

@@Robertgriffinne I usually don't take advises online but i curiously looked Ms NIcole up and scheduled a phone call with her. she seems proficient and well grounded

[@ciaranbate6039]

No because most retail investors lose money and the economist magazine couldn’t risk damaging their reputation by making the majority of people lose money.

[@lv3609]

This is only a small part of the whole picture. Russia exports metals palladium, titanium, nickel, platinum, aluminum, iron and steel, and get revenues from that even from the west countries. More: “LONDON, March 22 ( redacted ) - The London Metal Exchange has no current plans to ban from its system metal from Russian producers, such as nickel and copper from Norilsk Nickel or aluminium from Rusal, it said on Tuesday, despite calls from some members to do so.” Russian exports of gold and platinum deserve a right now ban, particularly Russian gold because it undermines sanctions on Russia using dollars and euros.

[@bigdramashow9934]

The British government is very discriminatory in its own favour. For over 20 years now Russian oligarchs he e been embraced with their laundered money 💴 and the British government was quite happy with that. British government used those big coffers of launders money together with Russian oligarchs and everybody were ok with that.

[@turtlespirit142]

Where's the sanctions on nato,their expansion is the cause of conflict

[@rka-truthalwayswins5127]

Sanctions not based on International laws & democratic will of ALL nations is economic terrorism!!

[@lv3609]

@@rka-truthalwayswins5127 “Sanctions not based on International laws & democratic will of ALL nations is economic terrorism!!” Because you say so? Putin had plenty of warnings before he invaded Ukraine.

[@JoeyIndolos]

I was most surprised by the bit at the end where they mention that Finnish interests own more British assets than Russian ones. And Russia wants to order Finland around?

[@KatariaGujjar]

Don't expect the UK law enforcement to investigate money laundering when the government itself is involved in the act.

[@valevisa8429]

Oligarchs choose countries where greed and immorality are strongest.

[@davidjma7226]

Do you know how many FTSE 100 companies - household names - are registered offshore in Jersey? I do, I worked for the company that managed their Registers. Even the London Stock Exchange is registered offshore. About 70%.

[@Santasimplicita]

@Vintage Bollinger for tax evasion and avoidance

[@charleswhite758]

Shouldn't you be free to register a company wherever you wish? Jersey is not part of the UK. They still pay tax on profits made within the UK. How that profit is calculated may have to be re-examined to prevent creative accounting.

[@charleswhite758]

@Vintage Bollinger Exactly, it is not the job of a company to donate money to the UK Treasury. Its job to make profits and to pay them to the investors as dividends, as large as possible please.

[@Cr4y7-AegisInquisitor]

If the currency was better at storing wealth, the monetary premium wouldn't have to flow into housing, outpricing everyone else.

[@princevesperal]

Storing wealth in currency is a terrible idea: it only leads to thesaurisation, which in turn creates economic crises when the supply of circulating cash contracts then booms.

[@nwshull]

If currency accumulated wealth on their own there'd be horrific downstream effects. Farmers couldn't get loans to plant crops, start up businesses couldn't get loans to create jobs and innovate, regular families couldn't get mortgages etc. Money would just accumulate value with no risk. The entire economic system of private enterprise is based on the idea of matching investors/lenders with borrowers. The problem is when you allow lenders/investors who get money outside the legal means to wash their money clean into legal investments, i.e. money laundering. Essentially that's what a lot of the major western city real estate markets have become for shady interests from authoritarian regimes.

[@himoffthequakeroatbox4320]

Word salad. You don't have a clue what you're talking about.

[@charleswhite758]

Surely then there would be no incentive for investment?

[@tonyduncan9852]

Corruption always knows where to look. Usually it just removes its blindfold.

[@tirzhaprinsloo2774]

This is the reason why other countries that had ties with South Africa after the government change a lot of money had been stolen by the new government and sent to other countries. Our infrastructures are falling apart, we are still sitting with roads that are 70 years old. The whole of Africa are streaming over the boarders demanding work free houses free medicine and free money. The few tax payers must try to upheld the economy.

[@iddrisuganiwu4670]

Stop the lies can SA house the whole of Africans? The number of Africans living in SA is few compared to the white who took control of your country until apartheid ended.

[@eddielung31]

Hh

[@iamthenews5624]

Keep up this level of reporting!! Ty

[@kimwahchueng5291]

“CASH IS THE ULTIMATE KING”: quoted by one infamous kleptocrat

[@woobykal68]

Madness, you can register a company without ID.

[@sjsj9106]

I absolutely LOVE how yall act as if Britain and ESPECIALLY States r not full of oligarchs

[@no-oneinparticular7264]

Last time I looked London was in England, Britain. Everyone has been talking about it.

[@svetagolubeva1986]

I guess he is talking about the local British oligarchs…

[@mathiasnowts864]

The Tories gave a peerage to the son of an oligarch whose father is former KGB employee, how come Boris never mentions this. Why is this not frontpage news?Why aren't the British media investigating this, the Economist?

[@wh6055]

Vital topic. Brilliant production.

[@kirillxsobolev]

I love how she makes “Russian money” equal to “stolen money”.

[@Mariajbh2]

They are "selling" that the corrupted money is from overseas and that Russian money is corrupted. They love Russian money and from overseas, they live from

[@souvikrc4499]

To be honest, it often is.

[@sinisterai]

But... but... The English TOOK the money! And London has its own oligarchs. Russian oligarchs are not the only oligarchs to be watching...

[@francescahamilton6856]

Excellent & very informative.

[@ayowandeoluwatosin9365]

This is quite insightful. thank you

[@researchereye]

All kind of pirates and terrorists were always welcomed in London, if they have money... It is history of this country.

[@alwaystruth3558]

That’s why rent is high ,, we are poor peoples struggling to pay rent…Landlord increasing rent on their wish… Government don’t have any rule 😭😭😭😭

[@johannsebastian2681]

Just donate some money to the conservatives party, the Tories, and boom no questions asked

[@julietcrowson3503]

In a word: Lawyers In two: Corrupt lawyers Globalisation of laws, which have been drafted by the above, conspired to protect the above...

[@nayaman1023]

I hope someday Karma will revenge to this kind of business of the british

[@aaronsmyth7943]

So much for not knowing the scale of what's happening. The stark ting is that the UK gov can't take the moral high ground.

[@bravosierra2447]

FYI: Treasure Islands by Nicholas Shaxson goes into insightful details on how The City of London became the center of it all.

[@tumimbasa1705]

I always wondered where was all this talk in 2014... great video btw

[@micahaalders9840]

Just like Vancouver. Average income can't buy any house, but Huawei CFO was allowed to stay in either of her 2 mansions during her house arrest.

[@nicholasdickens2801]

The British establishment just says, “How much do you want to spend.”

[@conan670431]

Only in Russian the west calls them Oligarchs ...... in the west itself they are called businessmen :)

[@user-vk4lh2nj8k]

In my opinion, there is significant difference between oligarchs and businessmen. The first is in fact a robber, who uses his position in the state, especially in the failed state for personal enrichment, while the second becomes rich step by step and his income invests in industry, art or any other branch of economic or social life. Russia, as well as most of the post soviet states are corrupted and present typical oligarchic state.

[@sunkissism]

Oligarchs gained their wealth from privatisation auctions of state owned enterprises

[@margocarmichael6765]

No

[@prudentialism_]

3:35 It's so weird that nobody talks about shock therapy of Russia (creating inequality by implementing a market economy) as a origin of the system of Putin but everybody's discussing the NATO expansion. It's called International Political Economy for a reason.

[@Britishpakistani2023]

Billionaires from around the world have brought properties which has pushed the prices so high that honest hard working British people can not afford to buy a house

[@Littletime839]

Yup, the feudal system is alive and kicking

[@fearless6219]

The queen can seized all the land by using Royal prerogative and sell it to the poor people for low prices

[@Littletime839]

@Vintage Bollinger Billionaires do profit from property in places likes Wolverhampton and Rotherham as they'll have a stake in the property development firms. They won't so any of this, they have wealth management companies doing it for them.

[@BobbyMadhu]

Nicely covered. Vijay Malaya from India too had been sheltered by Britain. This may not be exactly as Russians but yet he is criminal in India and as such should be extradited

[@dwaynejohnson8606]

extradition in your dream 🤡

[@jojyjohn7496]

@@dwaynejohnson8606 so u side with criminals

[@OofusTwillip]

That's the great Canadian character actor & singer, Billy Van, at the table on the beach. It's a clip from the commercials he did for Colt 45 malt liquor, from the 1960s-1980s.

[@Dynasty1818]

Started with John Major and the Tories, but Bliar and Brownstain Labour relaxed the rules and made it far, far, far easier to flood money in.

[@GuyverFrancis-jh6lm]

😂😂😂

[@gerritgerritsen9894]

Oliegarchen are rich people. And you only get very rich if you are callous and without scruples This kind of person has always been and will always be. But the fact is that my life does not change by knowing where these rich unscrupulous people have their money. I cannot change it.

[@davidbryden7904]

Unfortunately we seem to have a lot more rich, greedy bA$Turds today! I admire your ability to have a"zen" perspective on this!

[@RyanMurphy571]

Great content and I thank you for breaking it down!! Even in the current crypt0 dip, I'm happy I can smile back at my portfolio of $56,700 made from my weekly trade within a short period.💯💯💯

[@RyanMurphy571]

​@@Eric-RobertI would recommend you get started with a professional broker that will trade for you while you get the profit,I have been investing in stocks cks and crypto for over 6 years now and I was surprised to see i made over $473k in just the past two quarters

[@RyanMurphy571]

​@@Eric-RobertI would recommend my current broker Alice Lee chen financials. She is currently earning a lot of profit for me and het services are top notch,most likely, you can find her basic information online; you are welcome to do further research.

[@RyanMurphy571]

+162

[@RyanMurphy571]

8227

[@RyanMurphy571]

9441

[@razor2k911]

Mind-boggling

[@vj8460]

Excellent piece Sadly one expects higher likelihood of a pitchfork-style uprising than a holistic revamp by government on such matters

[@cameronvincent]

Great video

[@simonf1786]

I hope the UK government will do as they have said, and not line their greedy pockets with blood money.

[@LeeLee-ct2vv]

But they do, traditionally

[@pedroroque8681]

Impossible.

[@jonasmichaelmoir9378]

Well said Fred!)))

[@jantelopez5626]

algorithms should be able to make banking cheaper .. banks seem to be the weakest link in accountability .. we should manage financial systems collectively not through competition .. especially by the sort of automaton that becomes a banker

[@anthonyferris8912]

Inconvenient truth, but he golden visas scheme was first introduced in 2008 by the Labour government, led at the time by Gordon Brown……😁

[@WIllz2GOTA]

very clear and informative video on the topic

[@gordonwallin2368]

Cheers from the Pacific West Coast of Canada.

[@user-vh1ck7xs3e]

Britain is Machiavelli in country-form.

[@jonathanbailey1597]

How late the shallow Economist is to the party. Do yourselves a favour, read Nick Shaxon, Oliver Bullough, the TJN, and Katharina Pistor to really get to the heart of it.

[@robertmccully2792]

Oligarchs means rich people with political influence. The real questions is why do reach people have political influence, and why was nothing done until now. GREED.

[@joman563]

“Reach people”? Are you Russian?

[@encabsss]

I guess it’s similar to the US but they use so called ‘lobbyists’ to avoid direct contact with the government.

[@malcolmbeckwithayres]

So sad-a place so loved for so long sells it soul and it’ll never be the same.

[@Shihab1979]

Thanks

[@mahiraasad7949]

We all know Britain has always resorted to methods like this to keep their economies going. This can’t go on for long

[@lofaszjoska6336]

Londromat

[@ariprabowo85]

The video is superb as always, but to get Karen Gillan to narrate is a great cherry on top. Cheers!

[@faizipop]

setting up companies is easy has a legacy in the East India Company. Corporatization seems to be a secular ritual Britain rigorously adheres to

[@underseaowl7440]

bro ordinary things did a video on this 13 days ago 💀

[@danmoore4933]

You watch and see, British government is going to pick and choose which oligarchs they are going to go after. They'll go after any oligarchs opposing the WEF agenda and cover for those that support them.

[@henrybn14ar]

Low Council Tax in the higher value boroughs is the big tempter. Land Value Taxation is needed.

[@21dolphin123]

Owning an empty house isn’t illegal, why.

[@julietcrowson3503]

Who drafts laws, and for whose benefit?

[@FitzroySymisterArt]

Because they share something in common

[@YanPutrisuryo]

It 's all about greedy...money...money...money.

[@daniel.lopresti]

Maybe you'd like to go back to a system wherein we acquire our daily necessities by trading goats?

[@YanPutrisuryo]

@@daniel.lopresti just like you'll do, right?

[@keyboarddancers7751]

The words 'horse' and 'stable' spring to mind.

[@michealcurrie8272]

To investigate into off shore banking would have an insight to where the monies has shifted. The reason for Brexit was not to be investigated.