UK turns blind eye to dirty Russian money: British MPs
London, May 21: The UK has been accused of turning a "blind eye" to Russia's "dirty money", putting national security at risk. A British parliamentarian body said London is being used to hide Russian President Vladimir Putin's illegal assets, media reports said.
The Commons Foreign Affairs Committee said it was "business as usual" for the UK despite the poisoning of Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter as the UK was being used to stash "corrupt assets" of Putin and his allies, the BBC reported.
A report, named Moscow's Gold: Russian Corruption in the UK, points out that Russian gas giant Gazprom was able to trade bonds in London "days after the attempted murders" of Skripal and his daughter.
This undermined the UK's efforts to confront the full spectrum of Putin's offensive measures, it added.
Business between the UK and Russia had resumed so swiftly following the incident that it had prompted the Russian embassy in London to tweet: "Business as usual?"
Committee Chairman and Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat wrote in the Sunday Times, ahead of the publication of the report that the UK's "lethargic response is being taken as proof that we do not dare stop them... London's markets are enabling the Kremlin's efforts".
Security and Economic Crime Minister Ben Wallace said he had not been called to give evidence to the Committee: "I fear such an omission weakens the foundation of the report," he said.
Wallace said the UK was "determined to drive dirty money and the money launderers out".
"(We) will use all the powers we have, including the new powers in the Criminal Finance Act, to clamp down on those that threaten our security," he added.
Tungendhat said ministers should investigate "gaps" in the sanctions regime which allows the Russian government and individuals linked to Putin to continue to raise funds in the city.
"The scale of damage that this 'dirty money' can do to the UK foreign policy interests dwarfs the benefit of Russian transactions in the city.
"The UK must be clear that the corruption stemming from the Kremlin is no longer welcome in our markets and we will act," the BBC quoted Tugendhat as saying.
The committee's report urges the government to show "stronger political leadership" on the issue by taking a number of actions, including: further sanctions against "Kremlin-connected individuals"; closing loopholes in the existing sanctions regime and speeding up plans to disclose transparent corporate ownership."
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J-K: FIR against missing soldier for claiming Pahalgam attack was 'inside job'
Srinagar, May 14 (PTI): An FIR was registered on Wednesday against a missing soldier after a video appeared on social media in which he had claimed that the Pahalgam terror attack was an "inside job".
The soldier, Dlhair Mushtaq Sofi, is a sepoy of 29 Rashtriya Rifles and a resident of the Tral area of Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district, according to police.
"The missing report... was lodged on 11.03. 2025. (It) has been converted into an FIR after a video showing him surfaced on social media," a police official said.
In the video, Sofi claims that he is aware of "each and everything and how fake encounters are being done."
"Indian government, RAW, IB and Army were involved in the Pahalgam attack. I wanted to stay silent, but my conscience does not allow me to remain silent anymore," says the soldier in the video.
The soldier also mentions that his parents had committed a mistake by making him join the armed forces.
The police official said the video, verified by Sofi's father and uncle, prompted the registration of FIR No. 75/2025 under Sections 197(d), 152 BNS at Police Station Ganderbal.
Section 197 of the BNS deals with offences related to imputations, assertions or communications prejudicial to national integration. The section covers making false or misleading statements that could endanger India's sovereignty, unity, or integrity.
Section 152 deals with the acts endangering India's sovereignty, unity and integrity.
The police official said preliminary enquiry has revealed the soldier was involved in online gambling and had debts exceeding Rs 10 lakh.
An investigation has been initiated, the official added.
