Yahoo News Sadiq Khan: 'Russian refugees are welcome in London' - EXCLUSIVE
London mayor Sadiq Khan has sent a message to Russians fleeing Vladimir Putin's authoritarian regime telling them they are welcome in London.
The city has been branded 'Londongrad' in recent years amid accusations that successive governments have welcomed billionaire oligarchs with open arms, leading to 'dirty money' flowing through the capital.
In an interview with Yahoo News UK, Khan said Londoners are "sick to death" of them taking advantage of the capital, and that it's been made "easy peasy" for oligarchs to use homes as "gold bricks".
However, Khan urged Londoners to welcome Russian refugees with open arms, saying it is important to "distinguish Russians from Putin's chums".
Thousands of Russians are reported to have fled their homeland since Putin's invasion of Ukraine as he clamps down on dissidents opposing the war. More than 4,000 have been detained for protesting in Russia since the beginning of the war, with some beaten by police.
Khan believes London should remain open to Russians "brave enough" to oppose Putin's "aggressive actions".
“London is home to many thousands of Russians who have absolutely no involvement with president Putin’s regime and are likely sickened by what they have seen unfolding in their name," the mayor's spokesperson outlined.
Read more: Roman Abramovich Added To UK Sanctions List
“The UK Government must look to protect those brave enough in Russia to stand up against Putin. London should provide a safe haven for those fleeing persecution for standing up against tyrannical regimes.
“London remains open to them and they should not face any repercussions or scapegoating for the aggressive actions of the regime in Moscow.”
Khan also called for transparency on the £1.1bn worth of property invested in London by Russian multibillionaires, and a crackdown on oligarchs' ability to launder vast sums of cash.
“I want to make this as hard as possible for anybody to launder money in London, whether it’s in homes, or whether it’s in businesses," he said.
"And so the government’s got to give more resources to the NCA, National Crime Agency. They’ve got to give more resources to the Serious Fraud Office. And they’ve got to toughen up on the regulation.”
Putin's crackdown on Russians opposing his invasion of Ukraine has escalated in recent weeks as the West slaps more and more sanctions on his regime.
Read more: The superyachts (worth £680m) seized from oligarchs as sanctions hit Russians
An economist at the University of Chicago, Konstantin Sonin, estimated that about 200,000 Russians fled just 10 days into Putin's invasion - including to Armenia, Georgia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey.
A video obtained by Reuters earlier this month showed protesters in Russia - some elderly - escorted onto buses by security forces. And on Monday, extraordinary footage emerged appearing to show two Russians with opposing stances on the war - for and against - swiftly bundled away by police as they began talking to a journalist.
The Kremlin has made it illegal to describe Putin's actions in Ukraine as an "invasion" or a "war" after thousands took to the streets - introducing possible 15-year jail sentences for those that spread what the Russian government sees as "false information".
Read more: Russian generals sent to Ukraine front line 'because troop morale is so low'
The Home Office has told Yahoo News UK that all asylum applications from Russia will be considered on their individual merits in line with immigration rules.
A spokesperson for the prime minster said: “Anybody with a relative in the UK can apply to come here and there’s no cap on that. And on the humanitarian sponsorship route."
Watch: Thousands of Anti-War Protesters Arrested During Marches Across Russia
