Bid to shut "oligarch loophole" launched by Lib Dems
The Liberal Democrats have launched a bid to shut the "oligarch loophole" contained within the Economic Crime Bill, which is set to come before Parliament today. The Party has tabled an amendment to the legislation which seeks to close a backdoor route for oligarchs to avoid meeting crucial anti-money laundering requirements contained within the Bill. The Bill establishes a register of beneficial ownership for overseas entities. However the Bill as drafted gives the Government the power to grant individuals - which could include Kremlin-linked oligarchs - an exemption from its registration requirements on the broad basis of "the interests of the economic wellbeing of the United Kingdom". The Liberal Democrats warned that this loophole could give 'carte blanche' to oligarchs and their enablers to aggressively lobby the Government for exemptions - with the risk that Kremlin-linked individuals continue to operate in the shadows, with no transparency around the ownership of their assets and no disruption
