THE KREMLIN HAS accused Britain of unprecedented “anti-Russian mania”, warning such an attitude could backfire and scare off other foreign investors.

British MPs have released a hard-hitting report accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin and his allies of “hiding and laundering their corrupt assets in London”.

“We are witnessing Britain’s rather unprecedented anti-Russian mania which is manifested in various ways,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

“I have no doubt that such actions won’t go unnoticed by investors from other countries,” he added.

“Many countries are working to improve their investment attractiveness and this I believe is a step in the opposite direction.”

The House of Commons foreign affairs committee urged the British government to clamp down on corrupt Russian money flowing through London and urged Britain to encourage global action to tighten loopholes in the existing sanctions regime.

Recent media reports said Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich’s British visa has run out and the application process for a new visa has been taking longer than usual.

Peskov said he was not aware of the issue but said many Russian businessmen were treated unfairly.

British Prime Minister Theresa May expelled diplomats and vowed new measures against human rights offenders after a nerve agent attack in Salisbury that London blamed on Moscow.

Moscow has furiously denied the claim, suggesting at various points it has been set up by British security services.

- © AFP 2018