§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they or any other party has any intention of discovering the whereabouts of the 76 billion dollars which according to Russian Interior Minister, Sergey Stepashin, has been "smuggled out of Russia" in the last seven years; and, if so, whether they will help to return it.[HL2338]
§ Lord McIntosh of HaringeyThere is a wide range of estimates of private capital flight from Russia over the recent years. Much of the capital flight reflects Russian individuals and firms acting within the law.
Where capital flows are known or suspected to be the proceeds of criminal conduct, financial institutions have a legal duty to report them to the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS). NCIS have agreed a memorandum of understanding with the Russian Ministry of the Interior and will assist its Russian authorities to investigate money laundering cases. The UK also provides technical assistance to Russia to help it improve its anti-money laundering systems and to meet the international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force on money laundering.