The United Kingdom on Wednesday imposed sanctions on individuals and companies accused of serving as financial intermediaries for Russian oligarchs Roman Abramovich and Alisher Usmanov.
Sanctions were imposed on two Cypriot citizens, Demetris Ioannidis and Christodoulos Vassiliadis, who are described in official documents as “professional assistants”. They helped create offshore structures and trusts for Abramovich and Usmanov.
Britain’s Foreign Office said in a statement that the new measures were aimed at those helping the two oligarchs avoid the brunt of sanctions imposed after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“We are closing loopholes for the Russian elite and for those trying to help them hide their war money,” British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley said in a statement. “We will continue to freeze their assets, which they consider to be successfully hidden.”
In addition, Usmanov’s companies USM, Curzon Square Ltd and Hanley Limited were subject to further British sanctions on Tuesday.
USM Holding carries out a strategic activity for Russia in the mining industry and in the field of digital technologies.
After the start of the war in Ukraine, Usmanov was placed on the EU sanctions list due to his close ties to Putin. The assets of the oligarch in the EU are frozen and he is prohibited from entering EU countries.
The 69-year-old oligarch Alisher Usmanov, whose net worth is estimated at $14.6 billion according to Forbes, appears today in two financial investigations in Germany. German authorities accuse the Russian billionaire of money laundering to evade taxes between 2017 and 2022.
Radio Liberty reported that under the new British sanctions, in particular, three children of AFK Sistema founder Vladimir Yevtushenkov and the daughter of businessman, Federation Council member Suleiman Kerimov, fell under the blow of the new British sanctions. Gulnara Kerimova, according to British authorities, acts in the name or on behalf of a certain person involved in the destabilization of Ukraine.
British restrictions also affected Viktor Medvedchuk’s wife, Oksana Marchenko.
Read the latest news about the Ukraine conflict on The Eastern Herald .
