A law to tighten and speed up sanctions against oligarchs and companies linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin is to be rushed through parliament.
The UK government says changes to its white-collar crime bill will allow for more crippling sanctions.
But the opposition and some Tory MPs argue the bill does not go far enough and have proposed further changes.
The government has been pressured to tighten sanctions against Russia.
The government has already imposed sanctions on Russian companies, banks and individuals linked to President Putin after he ordered the invasion of Ukraine nearly two weeks ago.
Days later, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it was time to “put pressure on Russia” as he announced what he called “the biggest and toughest package of economic sanctions” the country had ever seen.
- What is the bill and will it find Putin’s loot?
- What sanctions will be imposed on Russia?
- Britain promises faster sanctions against oligarchs
There are still a number of Putin-aligned Russians who have been sanctioned by the US or the European Union, but not by Britain.
To increase pressure on Mr Putin, MPs from all parties – including some Conservatives – have called on the government to target these individuals.
The Government’s amendments to the White Collar Crimes Act aim to meet these demands and use financial assets in the UK to “tackle corrupt elites”.
Recent research by campaign group Transparency International suggests that since 2016 £1.5 billion worth of British property has been bought by Russians accused of corruption or ties to the Kremlin.
The bill, which has been in development under successive governments for years, is expected to pass all stages in the House of Commons on Monday.
It will then be sent to the House of Lords for consideration before it is expected to come into force later this month.
The bill will create a new register requiring foreign owners of property in the UK to provide and verify their identity to Companies House. The register aims to prevent criminals and oligarchs from hiding behind secret shell companies registered abroad.
Businesses that refuse to declare ownership face restrictions on selling property, and those violating the rule can face up to five years in prison.
Labor says it will support the legislation but would like the proposed timeframe for registering property owners to be reduced from six months to 28 days.
Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer told the BBC’s Sunday morning program that the reduced timeframe “would make it really effective and put maximum pressure on Russia”.
“Six months is more than enough time to sell real estate,” he said.
Asked if he would support Labour’s amendment, Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake told the BBC’s Westminster Hour: “It depends on what the government does.
“If the government just kept it at six months, I would go back the 28 days. But I think the government will go much further.
“I spoke to the ministers involved. I think they are very positive about the position.”
Another amendment that would prevent anyone the government is considering sanctions from selling or moving assets out of the UK was tabled by Conservative MP David Davis.
The legislation also strengthens Unexplained Wealth Orders (UWOs), which came into effect in January 2018 to counter alleged criminal funds invested in property.
However, UWOs have only been used four times since 2018, and only one of those has resulted in the transfer of property so far.
The orders are being reformed to give criminal investigators more time to review case material and protect them from significant litigation costs when pursuing sensible cases that ultimately fail.
In addition, new measures will make it easier for UK authorities to sanction people in line with allies like the US and EU.
The government says the changes will remove an “appropriateness test” that will allow it to “act more quickly and make changes to further facilitate naming of groups of people”.
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