Roman must explain his wealth
entitled to live in the UK as well as others who use the 40-month investor visa are being looked at to see if they meet the new requirements.
The review does not affect Mr Abramovich directly because his visa ran out while he was outside the UK.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “Work is under way in terms of reviewing Tier 1 investor visas. In 2014-15 we took action to tighten up this route, including the introduction of new powers to refuse applications where there are reasonable grounds to believe funds have been obtained unlawfully. As a result applications reduced by 84 per cent.
“We are taking another look at how the route operates and are undertaking further checks on investors who came to the UK through this route before the reforms were introduced.” The new measures were brought in to tackle potential criminal activity and money laundering.
Meanwhile, Mr Johnson last night hinted at further measures to crack down on prominent Russians in Britain with links to the Kremlin following the revelation that Mr Abramovich has not been issued with a new UK visa.
The Foreign Secretary, visiting Argentina yesterday, refused to comment on the news that the multibillionaire is unclear about his application for a new entrepreneurial visa being granted.
But Mr Johnson signalled that the Government was studying other measures to target associates of President Putin as a result of the diplomatic freeze following the Salisbury nerve agent poisoning. “I think it’s very difficult for me to comment on individual visa issues it would be totally wrong of me to do so,” said the Foreign Secretary.
“There is a broader question about what the UK can do to crack down on people close to Putin who may have illicit or ill-gotten wealth and as you know we have a statute that allows us to use unexplained wealth orders against them, but we live under the rule of law so whatever happens must be done in accordance with the rules and the law,” he added.
Mr Johnson said tougher sanctions on Russia imposed by US President Donald Trump appeared to be having some effect. “The truth is actually that I think the effect of some of those sanctions particularly on some individuals has been very marked and I’ve noted that, but we have our own systems and our own approach and we have to do it in accordance with the law and accordance with the evidence,” he said.