THE AGENDA Geopolitics
Robert Amsterdam
London benefi ts from Russian émigrés – but because of the actions of a small minority they are treated terribly
L
ondon always has been, and hopefully always will be, a truly global capital, drawing talented strivers from all over the world who contribute to our rich social fabric and vibrant economy. But not all transplants are treated the same, and when we look closer at the reasons we fi nd a deeply unfl attering set of circumstances. No one would deny the brutal racism experienced by many foreign-born UK residents from Africa and South Asia, but it is notable how when it comes to the small population of Russian- born residents, there is a particularly nasty set of discriminatory tools and offensive caricatures to be found, and it makes having a Russian surname a liability when it comes to one’s business career. For HNWs, it can even become a threat to their survival. According to the Offi ce for National Statistics, it is estimated that 195,000 residents in the UK hail from Russian-language countries. The true tally could well be higher, but if you were to hazard a guess based only on the level of media attention, one would think they numbered in the millions. From Mark Hollingsworth’s book Londongrad to mentions of ‘Moscow on Thames’ or ‘McMafi a’, or investigative series by the Guardian or Channel 4, we just can’t seem to get enough of what one friend of mine calls London’s addiction to the ‘pornography of oligarchy’. Ever since the attempted murder of former spy Sergei Skripal, these caricatures have mutated into open hatred and suspicion, resulting in collateral damage and state-sponsored victimisation of many innocent Russians in London. At the top of the list of threats is the emergence of unexplained wealth orders (UWOs). The Criminal Finance Act of 2017 allows for seizure of assets and freezing of accounts without any proof of criminal activity. I’ve written on this issue here before, but it bears repeating that this instrument is an example of radical overreach. So far only fi ve UWOs have been made public, but I can tell you from private practice there is a specifi c targeting of Russian residents. Just one of the publicly revealed orders survived legal challenges, while three failed to meet the very low threshold of grounds for crimes. But that comes only after the victim has to go through enormous stress, defamation of character and unnecessary legal fees and expenses because the government happened to not believe in their innocence, often because of their patronymic. Other regulatory tools, such as the Magnitsky Act sanctions, have also become a source of abuse. Though this sanctions regime
The mistreatment and discrimination towards Russians living abroad benefi ts Putin and his regime enormously
was advanced with very good intentions to punish the perpetrators of Sergei Magnitksy’s 2009 murder and deter individual involvement in human rights violations, it is now a wide-ranging and open tool with low barriers for application. It has lately become an open secret that the Kremlin has been successful in using the Magnitsky Act as a weapon against its opponents, leaking selective information to invoke sanctions against enemies. There is a growing sense of frustration and fear among Russian émigrés in London that because of a small number of bad actors, the lot are stigmatised with a Russophobic stereotype. How did this come to pass? Firstly, the reason London has become a beacon for Russia’s best and brightest is that most are trying to plan for a future for their children in a nation that matches their values – values clearly not present in Vladimir Putin’s rotting authoritarian state. The quality of Britain’s education options attracts Russia’s most educated and mobile classes, and as such, there is an over-representation that lands on various wealth lists. This attracts a certain level of envy, scorn and assumptions that they do not belong. Secondly, there is no one to advocate in defence of the rights of Russian émigrés. The mistreatment and discrimination towards Russians living abroad benefi ts Putin and his regime enormously; it helps them keep control of all independent sources of infl uence. Many prominent members of London’s Russian community were themselves victims of corporate raiding, persecution and painful losses at
the hands of the regime. It bolsters the Kremlin’s preferred narrative that the West views Russia with scorn and disrespect and that their only place in this world is to live under the thumb. Lastly, the poor image of Russia in the UK is unfortunately based on factual events. But the poor conduct of the Russian government should not and must not become a measure by which an ordinary Russian-born resident is treated abroad. Let’s take a step back and examine the values which attract émigrés from all over the world to London in the fi rst place. It’s not the weather, and it’s not the affordable housing. It’s because Britain is held up as a fair society governed by the rule of law. Except, right now, that doesn’t seem to be the case for everyone. S Robert Amsterdam is the founding partner of Amsterdam & Partners LLP The podcast Departures with Robert Amsterdam is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and elsewhere
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