Created in 2008, these visas are for investors with at least £2 million ($2.7 million, €2.4 million) who wish to settle in the UK.
The Ministry of Interior said in a statement that some of the cases raised “security concerns”, especially with regard to “people who have illegally amassed their wealth” and are linked to corruption.
In this context, the British Home Secretary, Priti Patel, stated that she wanted to “ensure the confidence of the British in the system, among other things by stopping the corrupt elites who threaten our national security and bring dirty money into our cities.”
The end of the “golden visas” will apply to all nationalities, but now all eyes are on Russia.
Boris Johnson’s government has been accused of promoting an influx of Russian money of dubious origin, especially in some of the most luxurious areas of the British capital, which has earned it the nickname “Londongrad”.
In response to a question Thursday, the Prime Minister highlighted the “strict” laws in place against money laundering, before talking about the tough economic sanctions that London has prepared in the event of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
At the end of January, the head of the British Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Tom Tugendhat, blamed the UK for the current crisis over London’s role in global money laundering.
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