In November last year, Operation Destabilise, run by the National Crime Agency (NCA), successfully disrupted two billion-dollar Russian money laundering networks operating around the world, including in the UK which was a key hub.
Russian oligarchs with links to the Kremlin can now be banned from the UK, the government has announced as part of a fresh sanctions package on the third anniversary of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
Shortly after the war in Ukraine started on 24 February 2022, the UK imposed financial sanctions on oligarchs, including closing legal loopholes used to launder money.
The Home Office said "elites" linked to the Russian state can now be prevented from entering the UK under the new sanctions.
The UK government said Kremlin-linked elites can pose a "real and present danger to our way of life" as they denounce British values in public "while enjoying the benefits of the UK in private".
