LONDON—An influential group of British lawmakers criticized the U.K. government for not doing enough to clamp down on illicit Russian money Monday, as it emerged that a prominent oligarch hadn’t been able to enter Britain in recent weeks because of a delay in his visa renewal.
“The use of London as a base for the corrupt assets of Kremlin-connected individuals is now clearly linked to a wider Russian strategy and has implications for our national security: combating it should be a major U.K. foreign policy priority,” said the report, published by the House of Commons’s Foreign Affairs Committee.
Russian billionaire businessman Roman Abramovich, who owns London’s top-flight Chelsea Football Club, hasn’t been given a reason for the holdup in his visa, but is regarding it as a delay rather than a denial for now, a person close to him said.
A visa denial for Mr. Abramovich, who is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, would be both a sign of how relations have deteriorated between London and Moscow since a former Russian double agent was poisoned on U.K. soil in March and a potential trigger for further worsening. It would send a strong signal from the U.K. government toward Russia’s financial elite, most of whose members harbor close ties to the Kremlin, which has helped protect their wealth.
Skripal Attack: The Aftermath
Prime Minister Theresa May blamed Moscow for the attack against former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, and in response, expelled 23 Russian diplomats and pledged to crack down on the flow of illicit Russian investment in London.
However, Monday’s report said the government had continued to turn a blind eye to London’s role in hiding the proceeds of Kremlin-connected corruption. It said the ease with which Russian companies conduct large-scale financial transactions in London, despite the measures the government has implemented since the Salisbury attack, has raised questions about how serious Mrs. May is about combating Russian aggression.
Mr. Abramovich, who gained his fortune during the scandal-ridden Russian privatizations of the 1990s, has tried to currying favor in both Russia and the West. In Russia, he has served as a governor of an impoverished region of Chukotka in the Far East and maintained close ties to Mr. Putin.
So far, U.K. authorities have given no reason for the holdup in the visa, the person close to him said. The visa was originally given under a program that grants visas to important foreign investors.
Mr. Abramovich wasn’t able to attend the FA Cup soccer final in London on Saturday when Chelsea beat Manchester United. He has resided largely in the U.K. in recent years and until earlier in May never suffered any delays in his visa renewal, the person close to him said.
A second person with knowledge of the matter said Mr. Abramovich’s visa expired in April and that the government was still considering it. He applied for the visa from Russia, not the U.K., so the application is undergoing additional checks.
Prime Minister Theresa May’s spokesman said Monday that the government wouldn’t comment on individual cases, but that new powers have been introduced in recent years to refuse applications when there were grounds to believe funds have been obtained illegally.
“Further checks are being made on investors who came to the U.K. through this route before the reforms were introduced,” said James Slack, the spokesman. “We are determined to drive dirty money and the money launderers out of the U.K.”
Russian officials deny any involvement in the attack in Salisbury and said the U.K. is unfairly stirring up anti-Russian sentiment. Both Mr. Skripal and his daughter Yulia, who were left unconscious after coming into contact with a Soviet-era nerve agent, are out of hospital and recovering in undisclosed locations. Britain hasn’t identified any individual suspects involved in the poisoning.
The Foreign Affairs Committee report singled out Linklaters LLP for its work with Russian companies. It criticized the British law firm for advising on the initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange in 2017 of energy firm EN+ Group PLC, which at the time was controlled by Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska. Linklaters refused to discuss with the committee its role in the company’s listing, the report said.
Linklaters rejected the criticism. “As a leading global law firm, Linklaters adheres to the highest standards of business conduct, ensuring we comply with applicable laws and professional rules, including with respect to antibribery and corruption, anti-money-laundering and sanctions,” the company said in a statement.
The lawmakers also noted that two days after the U.K. expelled the diplomats, Russia raised $4 billion in Eurobond issues, nearly half of which were bought by investors from the U.K.
“The sale of Russian sovereign debt in London is another example of the inconsistency in U.K. strategy toward the Russian regime,” the report said.
Write to Jenny Gross at jenny.gross@wsj.com and Alan Cullison at alan.cullison@wsj.com