University of Exeter
Thursday 15 November 2018, 5.30-7.00pm, Building One, Bateman Lecture Theatre
While London has long played host to the super-rich from across the world, in recent years it is Russian oligarchs who have been identified as potential money launderers and even threats to national security. But beyond the cliché and the bling we know very little about the society of rich Russians in London and their connections to the UK establishment and the global elite through their residency in the city. What makes London such an attractive draw? Who are the Western financial and business services professionals who work with the oligarchs? Are the oligarchs and their professionals keeping, avoiding or breaking UK law? Are they contributing to society through their philanthropy? What are the political and security implications of their presence in London? In the first of two seminars, we welcome two leading experts on these questions: Elisabeth Schimpfossl, author of “Rich Russians: From Oligarchs to Bourgeoisie” (Oxford University Press, 2018), and John Helmer, a long-serving foreign correspondent in Moscow, an expert on Russian business, and blogger of Dances With Bears.