London, 11 March 2022 (TDI): The United Kingdom (UK) has announced sanctions against 7 oligarchs from Russia. These include Roman Abramovich and Oleg Deripaska as well.
Measures adopted by the UK against Russian Individuals
Foreign Secretary of UK, Liz Truss announced on March 10, that a full asset freeze and travel ban will be imposed on seven of Russia’s wealthiest and most influential oligarchs, whose business empires, wealth, as well as connections, are closely associated with the Kremlin.
The UK claims that these oligarchs have a collective net worth of around £15 billion. The seven influential Russians are banned from traveling to the UK and no UK citizen or company may do business with them.
The Prime Minister of the UK, Boris Johnson stated that there will be no safe havens for those supporting Russia’s vicious assault on Ukraine. The latest sanctions symbolize the UK’s unwavering support for Ukraine.
Whilst Foreign Secretary Liz Truss articulated that these sanctions portray that oligarchs and kleptocrats have no place in the country’s economy or society. She further stated that because of their close links to Putin, the seven individuals are complicit in his aggression.
Ever since Russia launched the attack on Ukraine on 24th February, the UK has been at the forefront of efforts against Russia like shutting out large proportions of whole sectors of the Russian economy.
These include the defense industry, financial institutions, and transport sector of Russia. The UK has already sanctioned more than 200 of the most significant and high-value Russian individuals, entities, and subsidiaries, with over 500 of them now covered by the UK’s sanctions list.
Who has been sanctioned by the UK?
- Roman Abramovich owner of Chelsea FC and has stakes in steel giant Evraz and Norilsk Nickel
- Oleg Deripaska has stakes in En+ Group
- Igor Sechin is the Chief Executive of Rosneft
- Andrey Kostin is Chairman of VTB bank
- Alexei Miller is CEO of energy company Gazprom
- Nikolai Tokarev is president of the Russian state-owned pipeline company Transneft
- Dmitri Lebedev is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bank Rossiya
Roman Abramovich
Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea Football Club, worth more than £9 billion assets have been frozen. Moreover, a prohibition on transactions with UK individuals and businesses, a travel ban, and transport sanctions have been imposed.
Oleg Deripaska
Likewise, leading industrialist Oleg Deripaska who is also Abramovich’s one-time business partner, worth £2 billion, has also been sanctioned with the same measures.
In addition, Putin’s right-hand man, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin, and 4 more of Putin’s inner circle will be targeted with an asset freeze and travel ban.
Andrey Kostin
Andrey Kostin is the Chairman of VTB Bank which is the second-largest bank in Russia. VTB Bank was sanctioned by the UK on 24 February 2022. Kostin is also a known close associate of President Putin.
He is known to support Kremlin objectives through VTB Bank. His net worth is an estimated £379 million. Both the US and EU have also sanctioned Andrey Kostin.
Alexei Miller
Alexei Miller has also been sanctioned by the UK. He is the CEO of energy company Gazprom. He is one of the most important executives supporting the Russian Government. Miller has also served under President Putin in the 1990s.
At that time, President Putin was Deputy Mayor of St Petersburg. Alexei Miller has been sanctioned by the US as well.
Nikolai Tokarev
Nikolai Tokarev is the president of the Russian state-owned pipeline company Transneft. He and Putin served as KGB officers in Dresden in East Germany in the 1980s. They have remained closely associated ever since. Tokarev has also been sanctioned by the US and EU.
Dmitri Lebedev
Dmitri Lebedev is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bank Rossiya. The UK sanctioned Bank Rossiya, on 22 February 2022. Bank Rossiya is widely considered to be the Kremlin’s private bank. Lebedev was sanctioned by the US in 2016 as well.
Fate of Chelsea FC
In the wake of these latest sanctions, the Chelsea football club has been allowed by the UK Government to continue a number of football-related activities.
This includes permissions for the club to continue playing matches and other football-related activities. Consequently, the Premier League, the wider football pyramid, loyal fans, and other clubs will be protected and stay unaffected.
A license has been given to the UK Government that allows certain explicitly named actions to ensure the designated individuals are not able to circumvent UK sanctions.
Understanding the Sanctions
What is an Asset Freeze?
An asset freeze blocks any UK citizen, or any enterprise in the UK, from dealing with any funds as well as economic resources that are owned, held, or controlled by the nominated individual and are held in the country. Moreover, it will also stop funds or economic resources from being provided to or for the benefit of the nominated individual.
What is a Travel Ban?
A travel ban entails refusing exit or entry or to remain in the UK. The designated person is declared to be an excluded person under section 8B of the Immigration Act 1971.
What are Transport Sanctions?
Any Russian aircraft to fly or land in the UK has been declared a criminal offense after recently introduced powers. It also gives the Government powers to remove aircraft belonging to the sanctioned Russian individuals and entities from the UK aircraft register.
This will be implemented even if the sanctioned individual is not on board. Likewise, Russian ships are also banned from UK ports in the same vein.
