“Londongrad” and “Who Killed Daphne?” Podcast about Patrol

It’s scary how easily Kremlin-linked Russians can buy their way into the British elite

This is a cultural article This is Aftonbladet’s opinion journalism section.

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Two in summer Most interesting podcasts have one thing in common. Or rather – a person.

Provider London degree, Paul Caruana GaliciaThat means son Daphne Caruana GaliziaInvestigative journalist and podcaster in Malta who was killed in a car bombing in 2017 Who Killed Daphne? About.
Like her mother, Caruana Galizia has dedicated her working life to exposing corruption and dirty money in Malta and the UK. The former Soviet takeover of prime addresses, luxury goods and elite school places has given the British capital its nickname of Londongrad.

The focus of the podcast London degree A father and his son stand, Alexander And Evgeny Lebedev. Alexander is an old KGB agent, Yevgeny is a playboy who, with the help of his father’s money, manages to climb British society and take a place in the upper house, invited by the Queen. Elizabeth “Baron Lebedev of Hampton and Siberia”.

The trip has been both glamorous and terrifying, where lavish spending, boozy parties and lavish trips have drawn celebrity elites and politicians alike, and led them to turn a blind eye to warnings that the Lebedev family’s ties to the Kremlin are closer than they let on. Yevgenij, who bought The Evening Standard newspaper, has a particularly close relationship with the former prime minister. Boris Johnson It is said that Lebedev was inspired to obtain his strange baronial title.

London degree It also describes how easily British laws made it easy for suspicious owners to launder dirty money.

At the same time, a lot is happening High-profile murders, poisonings, etc. linked to Russian security services on British soil Litvinenko 2006 and 2018 nerve agent attack in Salisbury. Even the annexation of Crimea in 2014 did not significantly affect the progress of wealthy Russians in London. Only after the invasion of Ukraine this year are politicians starting to act.

But London degree Don’t shout hallelujah for that. Banning the Russians does not address the fundamental issue of how easily Britain can be bought off.