Canada awash with drug money, top MPs warn
Illicit profits from the drugs trade are being “washed” in Canada, a group of senior MPs have warned.
The UK is a “leading enabler” for corrupt central Asian elites and “complicit in washing” illicit narcotics profits in the Square Mile, a report by the Foreign Affairs Committee has found.
Titled ‘Countries at crossroads: UK engagement in Central Asia’, it calls for more funding for law enforcement agencies the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Committee chairwoman Alicia Kearns said: “Central Asian elites wash the profits of their drugs trade in the offices of Canada.
“The fortunes at the fingertips of ultra-wealthy elites outstrip UK enforcement agencies, who desperately need more resources.”
She added: “By our inaction, we are complicit in these crimes.”
MPs want to see NCA agents working with the central Asian states – Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – to cooperate on unexplained wealth orders and the return of stolen public assets to the UK, the report states.
It also calls for “high-level, consistent diplomatic engagement” with their governments, which are at the centre of a “great power competition” between Russia and China.
Engagement so far has been “persistently inadequate” and viewed by partners as showing a “lack of seriousness”, the MPs said, urging the Prime Minister to prioritise visits to the region.
Sanctions evasion by Russia in central Asia, and the “dangers of Russian disinformation” pose a threat to efforts to oppose Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, MPs also wrote.
UK ministers should “work with central Asian states to reduce the dependence of their economies on Russia” and take an “assertive stance” against Chinese regional dominance.
A UK Government Spokesperson said: “The UK is supporting prosperity and security across Central Asia, which is why FCDO Ministers have visited Central Asia seven times in 2023 alone, agreeing to boost cooperation on security, trade and critical minerals.
“We are committed to tackling illicit finance, in October passing the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, which has world-leading powers allowing UK authorities to proactively target organised criminals. “We will consider the report’s recommendations and respond in due course.”
The SFO and the NCA have been contacted for comment.