Nicholas Wilson, a financial services whistleblower who was fired by UK law firm, Weightmans, after exposing millions of pounds in unfair customer charges, claims the City of London relies on “dirty money” and says the world economy would collapse if the City stopped laundering it.

UK Tried To Block EU Bid To Tighten Up On Money Laundering

Mr Wilson, a former litigation manager, said: “The EU wanted to tighten up on money laundering and the UK was the only country who voted against it.”

He said: “Capitalism relies on a swash of dirty money which is moved around and supports investment around the world.”

A report last year by the Centre for Banking Research at Cass Business School painted a rosy picture of the City of London post-Brexit.

The report’s co-author Professor Barbara Casu Lukac wrote: “London will continue to be a key player in the global financial services industry and capital markets following Brexit. However some of its operations, capabilities and margins will be affected by the long-term political regulatory uncertainty underlying the Brexit process.”

It comes in stark contrast to the dire utterances about the City’s future made by the then Chancellor, George Osborne, as part of his “Project Fear”, before the Brexit referendum in 2016.

After the referendum David Cameron resigned and was replaced by another Remainer, Theresa May, and when her efforts to push through a Brexit deal failed she was succeeded by Boris Johnson, who had been an enthusiastic supporter of leaving the European Union all along.

In June 2019, during the Conservative leadership contest, Boris Johnson bragged about how much he had done for the City of London.

Johnson renegotiated a new deal with the EU but the future of the City of London will be part of negotiations on trade later this year.

Banks will be able to continue providing services during the transition period, which will begin on 1 February, but they are due to lose their “passporting rights” which allow them to offer services to customers in the 27 European Union states.

One possible solution is that UK banks might have to set up a subsidiary in an EU member state and apply for a passporting licence there.

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