The man who devised the first sanctions list against Putin’s cronies says the latest UK efforts are “missing the target” – which should be the dictator himself.
US Banker and anti-corruption activist Bill Browder says the crackdown should hit the Kremlin chief’s own wealth, which is kept safe and sound in London by a handful of his oligarch stooges.
Mr Browder said: “ Vladimir Putin ’s a very selfish man. He doesn’t care about other people, so sanctioning people around him doesn’t affect him.
“The only way is to hit his personal assets – and they are held by people known to us. We needed to make a list of top oligarchs two months ago and start hitting them five at a time, so he could see we are coming after his money. These men are well-known to us, they’re on the Forbes rich list and some of them even own football teams.”
The UK has promised “imminent” sanctions on Putin and Mr Browder’s cautious remarks boost calls from Labour to sanction prominent individuals – such as Chelsea’s Russian owner Roman Abramovich, who last night gave up the running of the west London club and transferred its “care and stewardship” to the trustees of Chelsea’s charitable foundation.
Mr Browder made his fortune in Russia around the turn of the millennium. He was moved to fight for the first sanctions after his friend Sergei Magnitsky suffered an agonising death in a Russian jail in 2009, aged 37, after questioning the powers that be.
Mr Magnitsky, a lawyer, had accused Putin’s government of falsifying documents as a pretext for throwing Mr Browder out of Russia.
He died in prison after 90 months of being refused medication for his pancreatitis.
Mr Browder said: “My friend Sergei would be absolutely appalled right now. He was the face of all that Russia should have been. He was young, professional, ambitious and patriotic. He wanted the best for his country. He wanted an honest country.”
His legacy – the Magnitsky Act – was passed by President Obama in 2012 with the aim of targeting human rights abusers and corrupt officials in Russia.
Mr Browder, like many across the world, has been shocked by the scale and violence of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. He said: “Putin’s always cleverly played both sides, being a presentable member of G20 on one hand while organising assassinations in the heart of Salisbury at the same time.
“He’s now destroyed that fine balance – he’s completely crossed the Rubicon.”
