Spokesman says Kremlin didn’t make Russian businesses withdraw capital from UK

MOSCOW, May 8. /TASS/. The Kremlin didn’t force the Russian businesses to withdraw capital from the UK, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"No, it wasn’t the Kremlin’s initiative," he said, answering a question on whether the large-scale withdrawal of capital from Britain was linked with orders from above. "We tend to think capital doesn’t live in captivity and doesn’t live in a dangerous place."

Peskov noted that Britain began paying undue attention to "some individuals and legal entities in terms of their financial assets."

"Naturally, when capital feels certain danger, insecurity, a threat of politicized, biased treatment, the capital outflow begins," the presidential spokesman said. "We indeed took a note of unprecedentedly large sums being withdrawn."