We need an Economic Crime Bill to ensure Russian oligarchs are not let off the hook

Putin’s cronies should not be allowed any time to move their money before they face sanctions

We, in the United Kingdom, stand united across the political divides in our condemnation of Putin’s unjustifiable decision to invade a sovereign country. We stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine. We must do all we can to support those people who are spending their nights in bunkers, hiding beneath the ground in the hope of surviving Putin’s bombs and missiles.

Ever-tightening economic sanctions must be used to pressure Putin to withdraw his troops and tanks. The international consensus for financial penalties has been strong, and Labour supports what has been put in place so far.

But we must go further and faster.

The government has – finally – heeded Labour’s call to bring forward an Economic Crime Bill, which will be debated in parliament on Monday 7 March. But it must be a bill that lets no oligarch off the hook. Putin’s cronies should not be allowed any time to move their money before they face the full force of sanctions.

Putin and his inner circle have been able to use financial systems across the west to hoard their wealth. Money that often belonged to the Russian people has been spent or hidden. Ministers must leave no door unopened as they search for money and assets. The bill, as currently drafted, will create a register of who truly owns property here in the UK.

But we cannot wait 18 months for this to come into effect. By then, the loot of the oligarchs will be long gone and it will be too little, too late. Every shell company used to hide assets should be cracked open immediately so we can see the true owners and effective economic action is taken.

Speed matters. Faced with a reckoning, the oligarchs will start running. If they have gone too far before the measures take effect, they will be rendered ineffective. We cannot allow that to happen.

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March 7 is also the moment to announce a total ban on the export of luxury goods to Russia that Labour has been calling for, so that Putin and his inner circle cannot continue to buy designer clothes, jewellery and precious stones. It is abhorrent they could continue to live opulently while Ukrainian people continue to suffer. This week I asked Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the Secretary of State, to support this proposal. No firm commitment was given, despite me asking her repeatedly.

Ministers can take their own steps here in the UK to ensure Putin cannot live a Mayfair lifestyle in Moscow. If the government does take such steps, they will have the full support of the Labour Party. That way, any necessary legislation can pass through parliament very quickly.

The message the Ukrainian people are sending to Putin is unmistakable. Our message to the Kremlin must be just as stark.