The sale of Chelsea FC by millionaire Roman Abramovich is the most visible result to date of the pressure on the Russian oligarchs in the UK, but this has not silenced those who demand that the British government be more powerful.
Russian money in London is a big taboo facing Boris Johnson’s CEO. On the other hand, the UK shows itself in words and deeds as one of Ukraine’s strongest allies. On the other hand, there are only a few who are currently affected by the sanctions that you will not find too difficult to circumvent.
Ukrainian society and the opposition are demanding immediate action against the property of these emperors: yachts, homes, private planes … Almost all of them are, yes, protected under the umbrella of some company located in a tax haven.
. sources Downing Street – Prime Minister’s Office – Recognizing that laws require respect for a process that can slow asset confiscation for up to months.
Abramovich himself, despite being forced to sell Chelsea, were not punished, despite calls for this.
We understand that some of these people have very deep pockets. (But) that does not mean that they are immune or exempt in any way.” BBC Secretary of State for Security Damian Hinds.
The official in charge of the conservative executive authority also denied its fear of the possible legal repercussions of the new measures to confiscate or besiege capital.
“There will be more people who can be punished,” Hinds emphasized.
According to the newspaper financial timesthe British government is finalizing plans to seize the property of the oligarchs who have hitherto been subjected to sanctions in this country.
Although the action has yet to be taken, the Minister for Territorial Cohesion, Michael Gove, is analyzing, with the Executive’s legal advisors, the prospects for confiscation of these assets without prejudice to legal security or guarantees of private property.
So far, the UK has frozen the assets of nine Russian rulers, including Kirill Shamalov, the former son-in-law of President Vladimir Putin; Denis Bortnikov, Vice President of VTB Bank; Elena Georgieva, President of Novikombank; and Gennady Timchenko, billionaire friend of Putin.
But the list of those who have so far escaped punishment is much longer. It contains a name that is especially surprising among anti-corruption activists: the name of Evgeny Lebedev, the billionaire son of a former agent of the Russian secret services, who bought the London Evening newspaper. Evening Standard in 2009.
Lebedev unmatchedly embodies the conflated relationship between Russian money and British politics.
He was nominated by Boris Johnson himself in 2020 for a life seat in the House of Lords.
Despite the British security services’ suspicion of Lebedev, that did not stop the prime minister from rewarding him with admission to the Senate, thanks to an intense campaign in favor of his election as mayor of London as did his newspaper. (Dr)
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