Official: London is no safe haven for Russian capital any more

MOSCOW, May 21 (PRIME) -- The British parliament’s report calling for tighter sanctions against Russia is a signal for domestic officials and businessmen that the U.K. is no more a safe haven for their capital, Anatoly Aksakov, head of the financial market committee at the State Duma, Russian parliament’s lower house, said on Monday.

“I believe that this is first of all a propaganda step. Anyway, this is a signal for everybody, including Russian officials and the Russian business that Britain is not a safe heaven for their capital. And it is clear that conclusions and decisions should be made where to place legal and illegal capital,” he said.

He added that “a growing number of such people understand that Russia is the best place to invest now,” but such investments must be made in compliance with legislation, they should be honest and transparent.

The U.K. parliament’s Commons Foreign Affairs Committee earlier published a report on Russian corruption in the U.K. which accuses the British government of failing to follow up condemnation of Kremlin aggression with credible action and calls for sanctions against Russia’s sovereign debt in association with the E.U., the U.S. and other allies.

The report also points to flaws in the sanctions regime, which allowed floatation of En+ Group, an energy company partially owned by VTB, a Russian state-owned bank, which has been sanctioned by the U.S. and E.U., on the London Stock Exchange.

Aksakov also said that he doubts that international sanctions against the domestic state debt are possible.

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