City political chief hits back at London ‘laundromat’ label
The City’s political chief has rebuffed claims that London has become a “laundromat” for dirty cash after scrutiny has ramped up in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Catherine McGuinness, political leader of the City of London Corporation, which runs the Square Mile, said accusations that the Capital had become an easy place for oligarchs and criminals to clean up their cash were unfair.
“I don’t think London is the laundromat that it is painted to be,” she told the Reuters news agency.
“It hasn’t been fair but we have to look at what’s causing the perception. When you look at objective measures, we don’t do badly actually, our system stands up well.”
Ministers and business chiefs have been scrambling to sever the City’s ties with Russian money and address the reputation which has earned it the moniker ‘Londongrad’.
Campaign group Transparency International has said that 2,189 companies registered in Britain and its overseas territories were linked to 48 Russian money laundering and corruption cases, involving funds worth £82bn.
Boris Johnson said there was no place for dirty money in the capital when the government slapped sanctions on a host of individuals with ties to Russia following the invasion, including Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.
McGuinnes said more scrutiny was now needed to tighten the guardrails and ensure that cash could from dirty sources could not flow back into the city.
“We need to look at whether those rules need improving,” she said.
Mcguinnes’s comments come as she prepares to step down from the role after five years, in which he has helped steer the City through the aftermath of Brexit, the impact of the pandemic and the turmoil of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
She argues that the city has retained its status as a hub for finance. “All the studies show that we remain a really attractive global financial centre,” she added.