'Put Ukrainian refugees in the oligarchs' mansions and say enjoy yourself'
27 February 2022, 18:05 | Updated: 27 February 2022, 18:07
"Put the families in there and say 'enjoy yourself'."
Andrew Pierce has called for Ukrainian refugees who want to come to the UK to be housed in the disused London mansions of Russian oligarchs.
It comes amid calls on the UK government to expedite the passing of the Economic Crime Bill to make current sanctions, Unexplained Wealth Orders, and the Magnitsky laws work against Russia.
Russian oligarchs have invested large amounts in London property, and there are concerns that some Russian money is circulated through untraceable shell companies that are registered in tax havens.
Many of these property owners are not UK taxpayers, with some being billionaire Russian oligarchs who have links to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Andrew shared his "thought" to help Ukrainian refugees who may wish to come to the UK.
"If we do take some Ukrainian families, and the government is successful with its economic crime bill, and Michael Gove the housing secretary is successful in acquiring some of these huge, vast mansions in Belgravia and Park Lane... let's put the families in those properties.
"Because won't that stick in the craw of Putin and his cronies? Put the Ukrainian families in there and say 'enjoy yourself'.
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"And if the fridge is full, which I suspect it won't be because a lot of these properties have never been occupied, they're a tax dodge, they're a way of getting money out of Russia."
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Andrew continued: "You could put quite a lot in, quite a few families I would've thought, particularly if it's three or four stories high.
"Wouldn't that give some satisfaction? I would've thought it would. Might upset some of the neighbours but there we are."
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