UK gave sanctioned Russians ‘golden visas’ after first Ukraine invasion
Seven Russians now under sanctions were awarded controversial “golden visas” by the UK after Vladimir Putin’s regime first invaded Ukraine in 2014, the government has admitted.
The government closed the “tier 1 investor visa” scheme in February amid the build-up of Russian forces on Ukraine’s border as it prepared to broaden its occupation beyond Crimea, which it annexed in 2014.
Since the invasion, sanctions targeted at many of Russia’s richest businessmen have become a key part of the response by the UK and its allies.
The measures have also prompted awkward questions for the government, with critics accusing it of offering an open door to kleptocrats and oligarchs, who in some cases are thought to have expropriated wealth from the Russian state on a massive scale. Much of that wealth has been used to buy luxury property in London.
The golden visa scheme allowed people with at least £2m in investment funds and a UK bank account to apply for residency rights, along with their family. Before 2018 it is thought that minimal checks were carried out on investors or the source of their wealth.
The government revealed that 10 Russians who received golden visas are now subject to sanctions, an increase from the eight previously admitted, in a written answer to a question from Stephen Kinnock, Labour’s shadow immigration minister.
Kevin Foster, a junior Home Office minister said seven of those 10 Russian nationals “either obtained an initial grant of leave or obtained further leave via the route after 2014”.
The government declined to name the people who received the visas, despite demands from Labour and Spotlight on Corruption, a campaign group.
In 2014 David Cameron, then prime minister, said Russia must “choose the path of
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