I offer this from today's Russia Report from the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament:
49. Whilst the Russian elite have developed ties with a number of countries in recent years, it would appear that the UK has been viewed as a particularly favourable destination for Russian oligarchs and their money. It is widely recognised that the key to London's appeal was the exploitation of the UK's investor visa scheme, introduced in 1994, followed by the promotion of a light and limited touch to regulation, with London's strong capital and housing markets offering sound investment opportunities. The UK's rule of law and judicial system were also seen as a draw. The UK welcomed Russian money, and few questions — if any — were asked about the provenance of this considerable wealth. It appears that the UK Government at the time held the belief (more perhaps in hope than expectation) that developing links with major Russian companies would promote good governance by encouraging ethical and transparent practices, and the adoption of a law-based commercial environment.
50. What is now clear is that it was in fact counter-productive, in that it offered ideal mechanisms by which illicit finance could be recycled through what has been referred to as the London ‘laundromat'. The money was also invested in extending patronage and building influence across a wide sphere of the British establishment — PR firms, charities, political interests, academia and cultural institutions were all willing beneficiaries of Russian money, contributing to a ‘reputation laundering' process. In brief, Russian influence in the UK is ‘the new normal', and there are a lot of Russians with very close links to Putin who are well integrated into the UK business and social scene, and accepted because of their wealth. This level of integration — in ‘Londongrad' in particular — means that any measures now being taken by the Government are not preventative but rather constitute damage limitation.
51. It is not just the oligarchs either: the arrival of Russian money resulted in a growth industry of enablers — individuals and organisations who manage and lobby for the Russian elite in the UK. Lawyers, accountants, estate agents and PR professionals have played a role, wittingly or unwittingly, in the extension of Russian influence which is often linked to promoting the nefarious interests of the Russian state. A large private security industry has developed in the UK to service the needs of the Russian elite, in which British companies protect the oligarchs and their families, seek kompromat56 on competitors, and on occasion help launder money through offshore shell companies and fabricate ‘due diligence' reports, while lawyers provide litigation support. William Browder told the Committee that:
"Russian state interests, working in conjunction with and through criminal private interests, set up a ‘buffer' of Westerners who become de facto Russian state agents, many unwittingly, but others with a reason to know exactly what they are doing and for whom. As a result, UK actors have to deal with Russian criminal interests masked as state interests, and Russian state interests masked by their Western agents."
I only added the emphasis. Do I need to say more?
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I blame neoliberalism
“Do I need to say more?”… no but I will.
One could put another label on “Putins little helpers” – prostitutes. The “Lawyers, accountants, estate agents and PR professionals” for the most part knew the score and knowlingly prostituted themselves to a group of, mostly, very very bad people, all done with a nod & wink from governments of various stripes. Britannia, lying back, legs wide open, welcoming all comers. This has had consequences and will continue to do so, all of them bad.
My guess is that tyhe report grossly understimates just how bad things are.
I am sure you are right
No one wants to be sued…
My tuppence – which I’ll admit – does not believe in Russian State interference as much as US/U.K and 5+1 eyes interference in our matters of state.
Even as the Obssesive Groaniad tries to spin the Intelligence Committee Report into ‘Everything is Russia’s fault’ (including Nandy quote showing her true ‘colors’) – Never mind US government and billionaires and social media, Cambridge Analytica, SCL and western DS etc
‘Committee members said they could not definitively conclude whether the Kremlin had or had not successfully interfered in the Brexit vote because no effort had been made to find out.’
Just a little throwaway paragraph hidden away.
‘when they asked for written evidence from MI5 at the start of their inquiry, the domestic spy agency “initially provided just six lines of text” ‘
& how the Tory government made sure no oversight was possible.
‘No single organisation within government was prepared to take on the “hot potato” of “defending the UK’s democratic processes” the committee concluded. Britain’s spy agencies saw their job as providing “secret intelligence as context” for ministers.’
i.e. no proof of Russkies doing ANYTHING but so no evidence of the foreign billionaires either – the Nelsonian blind eye turned to these robber barons and the usual scapegoating of ‘Russia dunnit’ without ANY evidence!
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/21/russia-report-reveals-uk-government-failed-to-address-kremlin-interference-scottish-referendum-brexit
I am with Carole Cadwallader on this one….
I remember Channel 4 News talking to cyber operators in the former Eastern bloc- a good number of platforms there were working for the pro-BREXIT agenda. Why would such platforms be based in the former Eastern bloc in the first place? It begs the question. Cheap? Maybe? Accessible to their handlers? Maybe…………………
Putin also works with Vladislav Surkov – a media manipulator extraordinaire.
The reason why I think it is plausible is because of greed and money. Many in the Tory party (plus some no doubt in Labour – oh Hi Tony!) no longer see where they live or work as their country. They have no loyalty to Britain because they don’t actually like us.
Their real country is a bank balance or balances; their country is their assets; their country is the next payout they will get for service rendered; their country is the power they have and will fight to retain in order to keep things as they are. And if that money is Russian money – so what? Money is money and money is power.
As for Russia – well the West deserves what it has got. When the ‘iron curtain’ came down, and Western capitalism won the argument, what did we do? Instead of welcoming them and helping them, we kicked sand in their face , offered them loans like a third world country and insisted that they change their economy over night. And what did that cause?
Chaos.
Diminishment.
Shame.
It wasn’t enough that the West won – we had to rub it in over and over again. A country who fought alongside us in WWII and whose involvement was pivotal to the end of Nazi Germany and whose sacrifice was immense – IMMENSE.
No wonder Putin wants revenge – because this is what this is all about. ‘Payback’s a bitch’ the Americans say. Oh yes – it is. The EU should have welcomed them in and got ahead of the nasty, grasping Americans and their Neo-liberal bullshit.
If I were Prime Minister, I’d offer Putin a sincere apology for what the West did. And recognise that how we dealt with post ‘Communist’ Russia was appalling and wrong. We need a reconciliation with Russia – that is what we need.
You reap what you sow – that is what Russia has taught us really. I wonder what would be happening in Russia without Putin!! Look at other states cut free of their leaders – Iraq for example.
The West is to blame for today’s Russia – make no mistake about that.
I regret your faith in the Obsessives Cadwalladr (and her cadre Such as the Russiabaiting Luke Harding, no doubt). Her claim for ‘integrity and initiative’ is in my opinion flawed.
The litmus testS for me is how the MSM treats Assanges political imprisonment and Scottish Independence.
So I suppose we have to disagree and leave it at that.
––
PSR – re the Eastern European, web merchandisers, they are NOTHING to do with being part of Russian Intelligence or even ex-Soviet (except In the fact they were properly educated!). They are merely individuals, I believe there was one particular city, in Croatia, who use the payment mechanisms via FB and other platforms to EARN money.
Many businesses in the ‘west’ pay professional agencies to promote them on the web and these agencies subcontract the work out to these who can marshal the web promotors, many of who will be in Eastern and Central Europe, Mexico, Brazil and across Asia. Including Russia – as the case of the StPetersberg Internet Research Agency attests. They, if you recall were cited by the line of the Democrats and FBI and Cadwalladr and co for being employed by the Russian State to make Hillary lose and Trump win.
A accusation that FELL when the accused turned up in the US to sue against that defamation- the accusations were WITHDRAWN – as the rest of Russiagate has shown – there was no evidence of Russia hacking into the DNC servers, it was a local transfer to a thumb drive and then passed to wikileaks for publication.
The Ukrainians (US backed and FBI connected) company that claimed Russian hacking – have admitted they have NO evidence for that claim.
Yet we are still being told it’s all Putins Russia at fault! And we are believing it because of our MSM who are mere puppets of the exCIA chief Pompeo who claimed ‘we lie, we cheat, we steal’ and happily promised and deployed a ‘gauntlet’ to stop Corbyn winning a U.K. election last year at an Aipac meeting, six months earlier!
An admittance of DELIBERATE interference in our democratic election process!
Not a single objection from our MSM and government.
And a very obvious failure of the Intelligence Committees in assessing THAT foreign interference.
All of the above is public record, so I won’t return to the subject, on this site, unless compelled.
Assange is a charlatan
What else would you like me to say?
That you[‘re really barking up the wrong tree with these comments?
And yes, for the record, I do think Russia is trying to undermine our democracy
Only Tankies and the far right deny it – but that’s where they join up
Richard, on Assange being a charlatan: perhaps. A bit creepy? I think so. But not deserving of torture or imprisonment I think. At least keep this link in your list of things to read – it is an interview with Nils Melzer on his findings on the report he was asked to do – investigating the allegations of torture of Assange – his report on what he found in the background to the case was strangely not published by any main media outlets, and indeed contradicts substantially with the accepted storyline. I still have some faith that a UN Special Rapporteur will be reasonably fair and impartial, so I do think it’s worth a read to get an alternative viewpoint:
UN Special Rapporteur on Torture interview:
https://www.republik.ch/2020/01/31/nils-melzer-about-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange
Their blurb at the top: “A made-up rape allegation and fabricated evidence in Sweden, pressure from the UK not to drop the case, a biased judge, detention in a maximum security prison, psychological torture — and soon extradition to the U.S., where he could face up to 175 years in prison for exposing war crimes. For the first time, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Melzer, speaks in detail about the explosive findings of his investigation into the case of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.”
I met him only once and went with open mind
I did not find him as I suspected: rarely do I sense such disquiet about a person
And he was at least in part imprisoned by choice. I am not convinced that the rape allegations were fabricated – I am not happy with that suggestion
That said, I do not think he should ever have been at risk of separation to the US
Yeah, disquiet is a good word. It’s funny how you just get a feeling about some people – I can’t even look at pictures of him to tell the truth – but unfortunately we can’t just stick someone in prison because they make our skin crawl. Well, most of us can’t. But it turns out that if you can read Swedish, there were no rape allegations in Sweden (not even false ones, just none), and if that was the best the mighty security services of the UK and US were able to come up with – it is unlikely he has done anything to justify his treatment at all. Or, he has just been very very good at covering his tracks on something else.
No, I don’t believe any of the given reported allegations are true – it has been postulated that he is being used as a warning to the journalistic community to toe the line or be prosecuted – and it’s funny how, gradually, over the years the media has become very much in lockstep. It is rare to read or see stories that deviate from an accepted narrative any more. I’ve watched a couple of old (80s – when they were trying to be radical) channel 4 documentaries in the last few years, and was shocked at how casually critical (of government, and the establishment) they were – that got me thinking about what a rare thing it is now. And how easily we have become accustomed to it. Many of us in Scotland now have got used not accepting the chosen narrative lately – we would have to accept how awful Scotland was, and how wholly incapable of governing ourselves we would be, if we did so (the Scottish news has a different bias to yours) so you will find a bit more scepticism in many Scots when it comes to believing the ‘news’. For instance, we are told the Russia report tells us the Russians interfered with the 2014 referendum – it doesn’t, but they need to distract us from the actual content which is that the uk political establishment is hip- deep in Russian money. Maybe Westminster interference in the independence referendum was at the behest of the Russians though – that must be what they mean.
Anyway, next time, if you stick ‘I believe that’ in front of [person] ‘is a charlatan’, I won’t descend on you with a big pile of reading material – that would be an opinion then, not an (alleged) statement of fact 😉
I’m sure Russian oligarchs have influence on British politics (just as British or U.S. oligarchs have influence on Russian politics among many) but only relative to their wealth, bigger players truly run our economy and culture via the BBC and corporate media.
I think the Russians have been sacrificed to help control/neutralise the political movements of Corbyn and Sanders but underlying that sacrafice would probably be their growing economic independence/power away from U.S. dictate.
The Russians and Chinese will now be used as the external threat to help neutralise/divide any resistance from the collapse of our economies and gross inequalities and suffering it will cause. I expect it will lead to global war and probably the end of life on this planet.
Along with Craig Murray, Caitlin Johnson and Consortium news also provide interesting insight on this subject.
Here’s a link to an article by Craig Murray about the use of the jargon “credible open source reporting” in relation to the accusation that Russia influenced the Scottish referendum. He explains that “credible open source reporting” actually just means stuff reported by the mainstream news (so not credible at all then). https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/
Politics in this country used to be about reconciling differences and then Margaret Hilda Thatcher came along and insisted that this was not the case and it was about ‘being one of us’. Like most extremists, only hard liners got on.
The worst aspect of course was the role of greed and money. We all know what happens in the financial sector. Criminal CEOs use their personal wealth to break their organisations’ own rules by paying staff directly to do so from their fortunes; analysts or lawyers who debunk their products are invited to take up well paid posts to effectively shut up; gagging orders and big settlements ensure compliance from the staff.
In suburbia, house sellers helped earnest buyers to be gazumped; people got used to over claiming insurance claims to earn a quick buck; many a middle manager took part in buying out his/her department in order to get a quick promotion to ‘director’ and a wage increase whilst searching for ‘efficiencies’; not paying your way in taxes or parking fees was seen a a new badge of honour – an achievement.
This is a country where money speaks. And where the middle class purveyors of PR, accountancy, legal services and estate agents concentrate on ‘being focussed and professional’ rather than morality and will fall over themselves to serve for the right price.
In 1988, David Marquand wrote a book called ‘The Unprincipled Society: New Demands & Old Politics’. I wonder what Marquand would write now if he were here to write it again. I think he’d be utterly disgusted.
Two corrupt and rotten countries made for each other. Is there any more to be said 43% of the electorate appear to approve!
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/russia-report-boris-johnson-london-laundromat-donations-a9630371.html
Wow, they actually had Bill Browder as a witness – the well known and proven liar? (FBI or NRS interrogation, interview, I forget which) The man that changed nationalities to avoid paying huge amounts of US taxes? The man that caused untold damage to the Russian economy in the 90s, extracting billions for his pals, and when his scapegoat died in prison turned it into a way to sanction individual Russians through the US political machinery?
THAT Bill Browder, the known Russiaphobe, and I believe wanted by the Russians for crimes against the state, was used to give evidence to the committee on Russia? 😀 😀 you couldn’t make it up, haha, yup. I think I’ll be taking that report with an incredibly large pinch of salt.
If you aren’t sure exactly who Bill Browder is, or why he hangs out with the rich and powerful in London, here is some background on him:
Book debunking Bill Browder’s book:
https://dxczjjuegupb.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/TheKillingOfWilliamBrowder_PrintLayout_6x9-1.pdf
The Magninsky Act behind the scenes:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q8hhP4kIoBI
That last really gives some fascinating insight, and real footage of him. There is a documentary about him too, but it seems to have been removed from YouTube now (due to a copyright complaint).
Craig Murray has an interesting and enlightening take on the integrity of the report. The article is worth reading as it challenges the mainstream narrative.
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2020/07/credible-open-source-reporting-the-intelligence-services-and-scottish-independence/comment-page-1/?fbclid=IwAR2nwCipXeTtLpDk08vna30C7pt2Z5AHUSh9ztHzBko3XqTD_-eqh0lp1j0#comments
You could look on it as a back-handed compliment to the England and Wales courts, or even an upfront one, but, according to Portland Communications (yes, I appreciate the irony given that the report mentioned PR firms too), of the 198 litigants in the Commercial Court between April 2019 and March 2020, 76 were from either Russia or its near-neighbour Kazakhstan. Clearly those involved feel if you want a globally-enforced judgement, a court in the UK is a good place to get it.
I am amused
Whatever has happened to the sequel that we were promised to the first McMafia?
a fictionalised series on russian mafia operating in the UK based on the book by Misha Glenny and shown on the BBC.
I presume they have been leant on very heavily as it was just far too close to the truth. I recommend watching it if you haven’t.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05pksm8
I wondered that too. I thoroughly enjoyed the first series (gruesome though it was in parts). Apparently filming was ‘interrupted’ last year but was expected to resume ‘at some point’. Clear as mud.
It’s OK because we have money laundering legislation in this country. All the professionals abide by it and it protects us all.
Or a bit like a customs post in Ashford…
The things is Dungroanin that Putin is a very rich man and it is in the confluence of money that I think much of this lies.
But I also go back to my point that you seem to ignore is that the West has not dealt with post Soviet Russia very well at all. Our insouciance was bound to have some blow back at a time now where authoritarianism is now on the rise.
Russia endured a capitalist free for all that left it worse that it was when under its old regime. So now it has resumed being authoritarian again as a reaction as have many societies coping with Western style ‘freedom’.
It could all have been much better. But no. We had to mess it up didn’t we?
Think about how many times we’ve made mistakes like that.
It is the same in particular in Switzerland but also in Mauritius and Germany where I worked and it appears it is a global modus operandi which slowly but surely will or already has destroyed democracies and the rule of law in many countries. Willful blindness to such matters will soon or later create a disaster, however, politics seems to ignore the reality and likes to make a big deal out of nothing or simply talk without nourishing change for the better!
Agreed
I hope you’re well!
Meanwhile, and in spite of Julien Lewis (Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee – who has now felt the need to challenge the Government in Parliament not to foist political advisors on the Committee), Bob Seely (both Conservatives – although Lewis has lost the Whip because he is Chairman of the Committee), and Dominic Grieve ( ex-Conservative MP, thrown out by the PM, in spite of Chairing the Committee and being responsible for most of the report), are all highly critical of Government.
The PM actually associated people who thought there was a problem for the Government to address over Russia, with belief in the “Bermuda Triangle” (in a BBC Question Time when he was challenged by an audience member on not publishing the report when it was first ready to be published. Kevan Jones MP, a member of the Committee has stated clearly that all the PM’s reasons for not publishing are not true).
Forget the Russian oligarch money swilling around London, and also into Tory coffers, at least for one moment; after the scandal of the Alexander Litvinenko polonium poisoning assassination, brazenly in a London hotel (2006), and the furore kicked up – not least by Government – over the Skripal – affair, it is extraordinary, inexplicable that the Government has not even sought evidence of Russian activities in Britain, and the security services sat on their hands throughout everything. It is bizarre. They did nothing of substance against Russia. They threw out a few embassy officials; tit-for-tat. This is just ritual dance ‘playing the great game’, as if we are still living in the 19th century. After Livinenko there should have been economic sanctions against Russia, at least. There was nothing; so little was done, by any government after 2006, it was craven.
What do the Scottish Conservatives choose to lead on regarding the Russia report? Murdo Fraser MSP attempts to turn it into something quite different from a matter of British foreign policy or poor Westminster control of City of London regulation. There is nothing to see in London. It is nothing to do with London. He wants the Scottish Government to investigate the 2014 Scottish Referendum for Russian intereference. Nothing else. Just that. Why? The reason is not hard to find. Fraser has tried to turn the issue from a British-Russia foreign policy scandal, into a divisive Unionist, factional propaganda opportunity, presumably to attempt to smear every supporter of Scottish independence as some form of Putin agent, or worse. Fraser actually expects the Scottish Government to do the investigation, in spite of the fact that intelligence and security are reserved matters; matters for the British Government. The crudity of the factionalism is appalling.
What is the British Government response to such calls? They do not want an investigation into Brexit or the Scottish referendum. They do not want to withdraw the RT broadcast licence (although they criticise anybody who appears on it); that was made clear by the PM today in Parliament. They have done precisely nothing about Tory party funding. In short they take stern action against China, but do nothing about Russia. Even the PM is not interested in Scottish Conservative factionalism; it is too fatuous and unattractive (for it is full of potential, unwanted, unintended consequences), even for Borsi Johnson.
This is the Scottish Conservatives’ prized British Government. The incoherence of Fraser’s absurd posturing is neverthless a matter of indifference to them. All they want is acrimony. All the Scottish Conservatives have left is bitterness, all they are capable of articulating, is black propaganda; to generate more and more anger and resentment, from a shrinking population of elderly Scottish supporters. The noxious nature of the crude Scottish Conservative factionalism, in the middle of a pandemic, in a devloping economic crisis, and an imminent no-deal Brexit has become plain for all to see. This is a tawdry and deplorable way to conduct politics.