UK law changes to combat kleptocracy may not go far enough, new report claims

Recent UK legislative reforms to tackle kleptocracy after Uzbekistan’s former dictator’s daughter Gulnara Karimova corruption investigation may not go far enough, a new report involving DPIR researcher Thomas Mayne claims.

The report, published earlier this month, states that Karimova used UK companies to buy homes and a jet with funds gained through bribery and corruption and raises concerns over the ease with which she was able to obtain property.

It raises questions about the supervision of the accountancy, legal and real estate sectors for money laundering and asks whether the new legislation–the Economic Crime Act passed in March 2022–will be enough to tackle the problem of dirty money from kleptocracies.

The publication is an output of politically and religiously independent non-governmental human rights and anti-corruption organisation Freedom for Eurasia, of which Thomas is a Director.

The report was covered by the BBC and was at one point the most read article on the broadcasting organisation’s BBC news site.

It feeds into the research Thomas is carrying out at DPIR, Providing the Evidence and Analysis for a UK Counter-Kleptocracy Strategy.

The project aims to assist the UK government in understanding kleptocracy and find legal, legislative and enforcement solutions to it.

Thomas said: “Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine has made many in positions of power in the UK realise that our open-door policy regarding dubiously acquired wealth was a mistake.

“This new report demonstrates how the problem is not confined to Russian financial flows, and highlights how much further we have to go to tackle the issue in terms of both regulation and enforcement.”