One of Russia's leading dissidents has accused the UK of "turning a blind eye" towards money-laundering and corruption.

Vladimir Ashurkov told Sky News that "there are special interests that would like to screw Government policy in certain directions, and that one such influence is that we turn a blind eye to corrupt money".

The Home Office has responded to those claims by saying there had been no "premeditated mistake" but he admitted successive governments "were focusing on other priorities" when confronted by accusations of money-laundering.

The minister responsible for economic crime told me there were now an array of tools to chase dirty money, and he wanted to push through new laws next year to limit secrecy around property ownership in the UK.

The plans are being pushed through amid growing fears over the amount of "dirty money" swilling around in the UK economy. It's believed up to £90bn of criminal cash is "laundered" through the UK each year. A significant percentage of that is believed to derive from Russia.


Image: Mr Ashurkov is a supporter of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny

Mr Ashkurov is a former Russian banker, and a prominent supporter of the opposition politician Alexei Navalny.

Mr Ashkurov fled his country and claimed asylum in the UK. He now lives in London, and told me he hoped the Skripal attacks in Salisbury, Wiltshire, would lead the UK Government to examine "the flow of dirty money".

"It is important for the UK to remain a centre of commerce, but we have learnt in the past year that Britain has become a haven of dirty money," he told me.

"There is a lobby of kleptocrats, enablers, bankers, lawyers and estate agents who service this dirty money." Among these, he said, "one influence is that we turn a blind eye to corrupt money".

Ben Wallace, the minister for security and economic crime, told me: "We have committed with draft legislation due this year and next year we'll hopefully introduce it, to force overseas companies, who own property in the UK, to register those details in a public register. Then we'll all know who owns what in London. That is real action."

Mr Wallace described the battle against money-launderers as "a massive challenge" and said: "The speed of modern technology means we're trying to track needles in an enormous haystack."

Image: Ben Wallace described the battle against money-launderers as 'a massive challenge'

He confirmed there would be greater use made of a newly-introduced power called the unexplained wealth order, which gives police the power to force "politically exposed" people to explain surprising wealth.

If they cannot give a legitimate explanation, there is a possibility that some, or all, of that money can be seized.

So far, two orders have been made, both against the same person. Sources have told Sky News that more orders are being prepared against "a range of people".

However, wholesale action against super-rich Russians still seems unlikely. For one thing, you can't seize someone's assets without evidence of wrongdoing. For another, such action may backfire.

Yevgeny Chichvarkin made a fortune in Russia by selling mobile phones. Like Mr Ashkurov, he moved to London after facing arrest in Moscow, and now runs a business selling wines and spirits. Despite his own antipathy towards Vladimir Putin, he says it would be foolish to target rich Russians in the UK.

"Sanctions would affect Russian companies and banks, and that would be the next stage of the Cold War. But if you go after the oligarchs, that will just make them angry and I don't see any positive result from that.

"If you want to punish Putin then punish him personally. Don't punish people who have lived here for 15 or 20 years.

"If that happens, if you put sanctions on the oligarchs, then Putin will just say 'I was right, the UK Government are the enemies, come back home to Russia.' Who is the winner from that? Putin."