UK remains ‘world leader’ in hiding dirty money, says top sanctions expert

Exclusive: Government must bring in law to tackle oligarchs’ London ‘enablers’, says Bill Browder

Bill Browder is a leading international campaigner against corruption in Russia (AFP/Getty)

Britain remains the “world leader” in hiding dirty money despite recent efforts to crack down on oligarchs’ illicit wealth, a leading sanctions expert has told The Independent.

Bill Browder urged Boris Johnson’s government to get to grips with the “enabler community” of lawyers and accountants in London suspected of helping kleptocrats from Russia and elsewhere protect their assets.

The Vladimir Putin critic – who campaigned for the “Magnitsky” human rights sanctions introduced by many western governments – said the UK government must now force so-called enablers to share more information with the authorities.