The UK’s toothless anti-corruption laws risk strengthening kleptocratic regimes like Vladimir Putin’s, a British government-funded report has found.
Since 2017, authorities have been able to use unexplained wealth orders (UWOs) to confiscate UK property from kleptocrats who fail to prove they bought assets with legitimate funds.
But the legislation has been used only four times, with no UWOs issued since 2019. None has ever been issued against any Russian nationals, despite MPs last month warning that the UK is the ‘destination of choice’ for Russians looking to stash dirty money in property.
