How The City of London Helps Putin Threaten Democracy

17th February 2022 / United Kingdom

Dirty Money: How The City of London Helps Putin

By TruePublica: The City of London is a big cause for concern when it comes to Vladimir Putin and it has been for years. It’s time politicians acted in the national interest and stopped this farce.

Let’s be clear about Russia. Led by Vladimir Putin, Russia is not just a ‘hostile state’ as determined by British intelligence – right now it is virtually the enemy. We know Putin’s Russia has been funding operations to destabilise the United Kingdom. It is a known fact that the Scottish independence referendum and EU referendum were affected by Russian misinformation campaigns. We know misinformation on the pandemic and many other socially divisive debates are funded by Russian money. Russia is no friend to the UK.

But why is it that diplomatic efforts with Russia have consistently failed? Leaving aside the fact the since 2015, the British government has been asleep at the wheel and consumed with its own self-importance – our international diplomacy expertise is now nothing like what it used to be. We no longer understand who we are talking to, and this is especially so when it comes to Russia. We haven’t bothered to find out what really drives Putin or his cronies and we don’t really know what they want.

Some of the answers to the crisis involving Ukraine can, in part, be explained. For instance, just prior to the pandemic oil prices were very low and Russia’s economic growth was dire. Even today, with soaring oil and gas prices, Russia’s GDP growth is lower than most modern democracies, albeit but better than it was. So by creating an artificial crisis, this plays into Putin’s hand?

Putin has handled the pandemic very badly and many more people have died in Russia than reported. Misinformation campaigns in Europe about Covid vaccinations emanated from Russia because of it. Even the reported 200,000 new infections (and 1,000 deaths) a day is woefully short of reality.

Russian people are not happy. In fact by last December, Russian public opinion of Putin had cratered and trust in him had fallen to its lowest levels. His reaction, like many dictators, was to ramp up a propaganda campaign in an attempt to get his people on side by telling them Russia is about to be attacked by the West – and he’s the man to stop it … through diplomacy.

What we are witnessing is nothing new in historical terms.

The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Tom Tugendhat, recently wrote a piece on social media that focuses on the City of London as being a major facilitator in enabling Putin and his cronies:

In 1945 the Soviet Union and her allies brought to justice those who had caused so much suffering to millions of their compatriots in a horrific war.

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Those who had waged it faced four possible charges

1. Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of a crime against peace

2. Planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression and other crimes against peace

3. Participating in war crimes

4. Crimes against humanity.

It all started with a conspiracy. A false flag operation designed to mislead and trigger a war. But the truth was clear – a mafia-like organisation had taken control of a once-great nation and provoked war in the narrow interest of its new elite.

Today’s parallels are clear. No, not fascism but the gang in the Kremlin are a mafia-like organisation in charge of a state. They have robbed and murdered their way to power.

Now they’re trying the same abroad

He’s tried to run the same protection racket he’s spun in Moscow, on the people of Kyiv but they weren’t buying it so he’s trying something else.

He’s trying to show that only other choice for Ukraine is pointless. The west is weak and divided and won’t really help them.

He knows he can’t hold Ukraine. 130,000 troops is a lot for a border raid but no where near enough for an occupation.

Ukrainians would fight and that means he would need to plan for casualties and reserves.

When he invaded eastern Ukraine and annexed Crimea in 2014 he lost hundreds of soldiers. Their mothers protested in Moscow and brought out many in support. He knows the same could happen again.

That’s why his plan isn’t just about war it’s about chaos.

Like all the worst leaders, he’s using chaos to his own advantage. Division is what rulers try if they can’t achieve the cooperation that builds real strength.

He’s trying to keep the pot simmering to keep the pressure on us and expose our divisions.

He knows he could walk away now and lie about his great victory at home – the number of foreigners who have been to Moscow show he’s the main man – or he could see what else he can get.

So far, he’s used the crisis to:

1. Look useful to his new friends in Beijing by demonstrating he can distract us as long as he wants.

2. Look strong at home by mocking those who talk about treaties when he talks about power.

3. Prove to the world that his rivals are divided and unwilling to take the action needed to face him down.

And all this he’s done without crossing a red line. He’s created a huge call option – he could cash in now, or hold to see what more he can get

So what are our options?

Playing his game in Moscow makes us weaker but abandoning Ukraine makes our other eastern allies nervous.

That’s why we need to get serious at home.

Dirty money (through the City of London) has been an issue for decades but its poison is seeping deeper into our system.

For decades, Russian companies have used our markets to raise money – equities and debt – to finance the Kremlin. As their economy has failed, they’ve used fronts to find cash.

We’ve done nothing to stop it. Instead, we’ve threatened vague sanctions on individuals whose assets are hidden and have more than enough to accept losing some now and again.

If we’re serious, we have to choose to act. (Paliament.UK) Sanctions and Stopping Dirty Money

Putin’s survival should require cooperation not chaos but that would require us to take decisions:

1. Stop focusing on individuals and close our markets to Russian firms – there’s almost no real private sector at scale.

2. Expel the families of those linked to the regime.

3. Support Europe to end its dependence on Russian gas.

4. Fund free media to allow Russians to hear the truth about their rulers and close down their propaganda arms abroad.

5. Increase help to those threatened by Putin’s aggression and pledge support for Ukrainian resistance.

6. Last – but in every way most important – stop corruption at home and prosecute it.

Taking fraud seriously, prosecuting enablers, whatever their profession, and exposing the full web of dirty dealing too public scrutiny is the first step to showing we’re serious.

Until we publish the assets of officials whose salaries don’t match their lifestyles and clean up our own city, they won’t take us seriously and we’ll be kept simmering.

Sergey Lavrov would have mocked Liz Truss less if she’d threatened his gold not just his integrity.

There is no need for war. Even Putin doesn’t really want it. What he wants is for us to serve his interests and through our division show his strength.

We don’t have to play this game anymore. We must stop pretending treaties matter to these crooks and act.

It will cost and we’ll have to be serious. But our democracy is being undermined and our alliances could unravel.

We know the truth – you can have freedom or corruption, not both.

Putin’s conspiracy made it clear – the time has come to choose.

TruePublica has published articles on the City of London and the facilitators of money laundering for years that has helped people like Vladimir Putin. Here are just some of them: