U.K. spy attackSkripal case: Johnson says U.K. may target “corrupt” Putin allies
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has said that the country’s law enforcement agencies were investigating rich Russian individuals with assets in Britain, and suggested that those who owe their wealth to their ties with President Vladimir Putin could be brought to justice. Allies have expressed support for Britain’s assessment that Russia was behind the attack, with French President Emmanuel Macron saying that he would announce unspecified “measures” in the coming days. And NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the “unacceptable” attack was part of “a reckless pattern of Russian behavior over many years.”
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has said that the country’s law enforcement agencies were investigating rich Russian individuals with assets in Britain, and suggested that those who owe their wealth to their ties with President Vladimir Putin could be brought to justice.
He made the comments on 15 March, the day after Britain announced the expulsion of twenty-three Russian diplomats and other measures in retaliation for the poisoning of a former spy with a military-grade nerve agent.
Johnson defended the measures as the British government is under pressure from lawmakers and media to show it was getting tough on Russia, which strongly denies involvement in the incident.
The Kremlin said on 15 March that London’s measures in reaction to the poisoning were “irresponsible,” and the Interfax news agency quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying that a Russian “response will come very soon, I assure you.”
According to state-run RIA, Lavrov was asked whether Russia would expel British diplomats and said it would do so “soon.”
Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia remain critically ill after being found unconscious on a bench in the southern English city of Salisbury on March 4.
Britain says the chemical used in the attempted murder was identified as part of a group of nerve agents developed by the Soviet military known as Novichok
And NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the “unacceptable” attack was part of “a reckless pattern of Russian behavior over many years.”
In an interview with BBC television, Johnson said, “What people want to see is some of the very rich people who are directly associated with Vladimir Putin…whose wealth can be attributed to their relationship with Vladimir Putin, it may be that the law agencies, that the police will be able to put unexplained wealth orders on them, to bring them to justice for their acts of gross corruption.”
The National Crime Agency and its economic crimes unit are investigating a wide range of individuals, he later told BBC radio. He declined to provide further details.
The foreign secretary also said that the attack was Russia’s “way of saying to people this is what happens to people who stand up to our regime.”
