ASSISTANCE TO COMBAT CRIME
124. The United Kingdom has a clear mutual interest
with those in Russia who wish to eliminate corruption and crime:
a corrupt environment in Russia is not conducive to British business,
and there is also a concern that Russian organised crime might
use the City of London for money laundering purposes or might
seek to tap into lucrative markets for prostitution, drugs and
other areas of crime in this country. Fighting crime is an area
where bilateral co-operation is of great potential importance.
125. Money laundering is a particular worry for the
United Kingdom. The City, the Crown Dependencies and Overseas
Territories may all be targets for those who wish to dispose of
dirty money. The Foreign Secretary told us that the FCO was "very
alive to the problem of money laundering at an international level",
and had "taken a lead" in trying to persuade Russia
to adopt money laundering legislation. However, he emphasised
the difficulties involved in making progress, particularly in
view of the state of the Russian banking sector.[311]
In Dr Galeotti's opinion, new Russian money laundering legislation
was due partly to pressure from the USA, though it was still an
open question whether the system would be properly policed.[312]
The City is by international standards an extremely well regulated
financial centre, with considerable expertise at combatting money
laundering. This is an expertise which could be of value to the
Russians. We recommend that pressure on Russia to enforce proper
anti money laundering standards be maintained at the highest level,
and that the assistance of British regulatory experts be offered
to Russia.
126. Drug-related crime is also potentially a threat
for the United Kingdom. While the use of drugs in Russia is obviously
of concern, the possibility of trafficking through Russia into
Western European markets is directly worrying for the British
Government. The FCO described the drug problem in Russia as "not
at the moment a major threat to the United Kingdom."[313]
Amplifying this, the Foreign Secretary told us that the current
British view was that Russia was not assessed as an important
route for drugs coming into this country. However, he did tell
us that the Government was "deeply concerned" about
the "problem of drug addiction and drug running and the organised
crime that goes with it in Russia."[314]
He was also willing to consider, with Customs and Excise, the
placement of a Crime and Drugs Liaison Officer (DLO) outside Moscow
to help nip in the bud developing drugs routes into the United
Kingdom, though he pointed to the problem of scarce resources.[315]
We recommend that close attention continue to be paid to the
potential drug threat to the United Kingdom from Russia.
127. There has been welcome progress in recognising
Russia and the United Kingdom's mutuality of interest in suppressing
crime. A memorandum of understanding between Russia and the United
Kingdom on combatting organised crime was signed on 18 June 1998,
following on an Agreement on co-operation in the fight against
crime signed the previous year. The Foreign Secretary spoke positively
of the memorandum to us[316]
and the FCO told us that they were "working on a similar
arrangement between the EU and Russia."[317]
A draft Action Plan on organised crime was drawn up under the
EU-Russia Common Strategy in the second part of 1999, and was
due to be finally agreed in early 2000 in the light of a EU-Russia
seminar on organised crime held in December 1999.[318]
Dr Galeotti, however, pointed out that the memorandum achieved
little in itself, and needed to be followed through both by co-operation
at the political level (where he felt that the FCO had been excessively
reluctant to criticise Russia) and at the operational level (which
he believed to be neglected by British diplomats).[319]
The Foreign Secretary repudiated the views of Dr Galeotti that
diplomatic staff in Moscow "reflecting the FCO's general
distaste of law-enforcement affairs, tend to regard the DLO's
presence as an excuse not to get involved themselves."[320]
As far as co-operation at the political level is concerned, the
Prime Minister himself has stressed the importance of co-operation
against crime even at a time when other co-operation might be
put on hold because of Chechnya.[321]
128. We are aware that there is a growing police-to-police
relationship between Russia and the United Kingdom, involving
the Metropolitan Police, the National Criminal Intelligence Service
and the National Crime Squad. Partly this is a bilateral relationship,
though contacts also occur through the law enforcement aspects
of G8. Certainly, the message we received from law enforcement
officials in Russia was that relations with the equivalent British
authorities in the war against drugs were excellent. There have
been considerable exchange of techniques, experience and training,
and frequent and useful exchanges of operational information.
A number of joint operations against criminal groups are being
or have been undertaken. Police-to-police contacts are particularly
valuable, providing an opportunity for practical knowledge to
be shared between practitioners. The British system of policing
is also well suited for developing contacts between provincial
British forces and the regions of Russia. We were, however, concerned
to hear in St Petersburg that collaboration between the local
police force and forces in Scotland had been restricted by lack
of finance. In our view, these types of arrangements pay dividends
far in excess of their modest cost. We recommend that police-to-police
contacts form part of the Good Governance Programme which we have
earlier recommended.
129. It was also made clear that Russia does not
have all the material resources it needs to sustain its anti-drugs
work. Dr Galeotti quoted to us the example of Finland, which had
placed a handful of properly trained and briefed officers in St
Petersburg who had had a direct impact on organised crime in the
region.[322]
There is a good case for the United Kingdom to offer the practical
assistance of at least one extra crime and drugs liaison officer,
possibly operating out of the Consulate General in Ekaterinburg
or the Consulate General in St Petersburg, who could liaise with
local law enforcement officials to protect British national interests
by helping to close down drug routes into Western Europe and monitor
organised crime which may target the United Kingdom. These officers
could also help disseminate best practice from the United Kingdomas
well as learn from Russian colleagues. We recommend that the
FCO consider the feasibility of increasing the number of crime
and drug liaison officers working in Russia, in particular considering
whether one might be based outside Moscow, and discuss with DFID
the possibility of partial funding of the new post or posts from
the Know How Fund.
262