https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/10/06/mps-demand-explanation-not-investigating-russian-money-laundering/

The National Crime Agency must explain why it failed to investigate allegations of “credible” Russian money laundering, a joint letter from two MPs has claimed.

The organisation responsible for investigating organised criminal syndicates operating in the UK has been told its bosses should explain to parliament exactly who told a senior officer to abandon any inquiry into a Kremlin-linked operation.

Richard Benyon and Ian Austin, a Conservative and Labour MP, have written to Lynne Owens, the National Crime Agency (NCA) boss, saying they were “shocked” to discover a retired senior officer was told by superiors to “close” any investigation.

Last month, the Telegraph reported that Jon Benton, the former head of the NCA’s international corruption unit, was handed a 37-page dossier produced by Bill Browder, a British financier, alleging money laundering by a Russian crime syndicate linked to the Kremlin.

Mr Browder has run run a long campaign against the Vladimir Putin regime after his lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, died in a Moscow jail where he had been held after exposing corruption and theft from his businesses.

Mr Benton claimed his initial inquiries after receiving the dosier showed money laundering was taking place and so a full investigation was needed. However, speaking for the first time since he retired last year, he revealed he was told by an unnamed superior linked to the Foreign Office not to pursue it. He said he was also repeatedly told Mr Browder was a “pain in the neck”.

Mr Browder’s dosier claimed that $30 million (£23 million) of “illicit funds” had been laundered through the UK, the majority through Lithuanian accounts.

In the letter to the NCA, the MPs said: “We are concerned to learn that the NCA made the decision not to investigate credible allegations that $30 million of funds from extremely suspect sources flowed through UK accounts of major British banks.

“We were particularly shocked to discover that the officer in charge of the investigation had made clear that there was a credible case to investigate but that he was instructed by his superiors on two different occasions to close the investigation.”

The pair added that there had been media speculation had included the suggestion that “political direction from the Foreign Office” or “corruption” could have been behind the decision.

They conclude that it is “incumbent upon us to follow the dirty money”, adding that the NCA should reveal who was behind any decision to not investigate.

A spokesman for the NCA said it had reviewed the decision and is confident that there was no political influence.

“The evidence required for a successful prosecution or the recovery of illicit funds is significant and in this case we judged that there was no realistic prospect of this within the UK,” he said.

“For this reason the NCA has offered, and continues to offer, assistance to foreign partners better placed to investigate Mr Browder's allegations.”

A Treasury spokeswoman said: "This Government has been hugely supportive of military charities. Through the Libor scheme, which has now ended, we have committed almost £800 million to charities since 2012, including those working with the Armed Forces and Emergency Services.

"All Libor awards have been subject to a transparent and objective governance process."