SCOTTISH prosecutors are primed to go after dirty Russian money as Britain looks to widen sanctions to hit individual Kremlin-linked figures.

The UK is still considering further action against Vladimir Putin's regime as concerns mount that a former double agent and his daughter may have life-long brain damage after the Salisbury poisonings.

Nicola Sturgeon on Thursday signalled Scottish police and Crown Office officials were ready to use new and existing powers to go after the proceeds of crime.

Labour: Scottish shell firms owe £2 Billion in fines

In a letter to Theresa May, Ms Sturgeon stressed that Scotland had pioneered the use of civil courts to strip criminals of wealth they could not account for.

And the first minster told the prime minister she backed so-called Magnitsky Act actions - sanctions against regime favourites of a kind introduced in America after the murder of Russian money-laundering whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky.

Ms Sturgeon announced her letter at Holyrood with a formal demand for Mrs May to take "concrete" action by the UK Government against the criminal abuse of Scotland's notorious limited partnerships or SLPs.

She was he Herald revealed Theresa May was set to ban the once obscure form of firm nearly a year after this newspaper revealed they were at the heart of multi-billion-dollar Russian money-laundering.

Campaigners and opposition politicians are still waiting to hear specific proposals on SLPs. The Prime Minister, however, on Wednesday formally made it known to the SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford that she is ready to act.

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon urges 'concrete' action on secret firms

Conservatives had already said they would reform SLPs under constructive pressure from the SNP and Scottish ministers and with support of key Labour figures.

The recent Salisbury attack - and the desire to hit back at the associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin - is understood to have "focused" the prime minister's mind.

The UK last June forced all SLPs to declare a person of significant control or PSC in emergency legislation. In Holyrood, Ms Sturgeon said this was an "important first step".

New figures obtained by Labour, however, have once again underlined how few SLPs are complying with this basic anti-money laundering rule. If they were all successfully prosecuted, they would have to pay £2.2 billion, Labour said.

READ MORE: Trail of loot from £1bn heist led to door of Scots shell firms

Annaliese Dodds MP asked the UK Government how many of the official 29,709 registered SLPs had complied with PSC rules. The number was 12,897. That means just 43 per cent are compliant. None have been prosecuted. This tallies with previous Herald research.

Scots-born Ms Dodds said: "Time and again we are finding instances where the Government introduce legislation but fail to properly resource authorities so that they can take action.

“The Government must begin collecting the up to £2.2bn owed in fines, as taxpayers are continuing to lose up to £8.4m each day that action is not taken.”

The Crown Office's Civil Recovery Unit has previously seized cash from a Moscow businessman he could not account for. It took £6.5m from Anatoly Kazachkov.