Some of Russia’s richest oligarchs had assets frozen in a £15billion British sanctions move – but it doesn’t go far enough. Now experts want the Government to hit their family members too.
They say a loophole in our laws means oligarchs could transfer assets to their children to potentially dodge the sanctions.
“There is a major gap in the sanctions regime and it must be addressed quickly, says Dr Susan Hawley, executive director of the Spotlight on Corruption charity.
Boris Johnson has vowed there will be no “safe haven” here for wealthy Russians who have supported Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
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But while US authorities have sanctioned close family of the despot’s allies, the UK has been lenient.
Dr Elisabeth Schimpfössl, a lecturer in Sociology and Policy at Birmingham’s Aston University and author of Rich Russians: From Oligarchs to Bourgeoisie, said: “UK sanctions definitely need to be tougher.
“If they don’t cover the children of Putin’s allies, it’s pointless.
“They could just sign money over to their children. Perhaps they have already done that.
“It’s difficult to trace a lot of Russian money because it is often held in the names of relatives – and some of the money will be parked offshore.”
Here we take a look at the wealth and lifestyles of some of some of Putin’s cronies and their families.
Sergey Naryshkin
He's director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service. Despite the Kremlin claiming it has invaded Ukraine to rid Europe of Nazism, Naryshkin has posed with French far right leader Marine Le Pen, who claims they meet once a year.
He was sanctioned by both the US and the EU in 2014 over Russia ’s annexation of Crimea but UK authorities didn’t impose restrictions on him until 2020.
His daughter Veronika is a model and the coach of the Russian national swimming team.
Her Instagram shows her posing next to the Eiffel Tower in Paris and in various locations in Italy. She has not been sanctioned.
Naryshkin had a tense exchange with Putin during a security meeting about Ukraine. He was repeatedly interrupted and told to “speak plainly” as he squirmed under Putin’s gaze.
Nikolai Patrushev
Secretary of the Russian Federation Security Council, Patrushev has been subject to sanctions in the UK since 2020.
Restrictions were placed on the 70-year-old for “shaping policy of the Russian Government threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine”.
His son Andrei – a banker and a key player in Russia’s energy industry – has recently been sanctioned by the US but has escaped similar punishment on this side of the Atlantic.
He has had leadership roles with Gazprom – an energy giant now sanctioned in the UK.
The Foreign Office did not respond directly as to why wider families of oligarchs are not sanctioned. Instead, they released a statement from Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. It said: “We’re targeting those complicit in Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and those who support this barbaric war.”
Sergei Shoigu, defence minister
Shoigu, 66, is so close to Putin that he goes on hunting and fishing trips with him – and is tipped as a potential successor.
He has said the West’s “strategic direction continues to pose the biggest threat to Russia’s military security”.
He has been sanctioned by the US and EU but the UK has yet to take action against Shoigu or his eldest daughter Yulia, 44, who is also a politician.
His other daughter Ksenia, 31 – reportedly a millionaire in her own right – is also absent from the UK “sanctions list” – people of interest to the British government.
Yet until last year, she was a managing partner of a venture capital fund whose parent company Sistema in 2019 invested in UK artificial intelligence companies – FiveAI, SenSat and KisanHub.
Before joining Sistema, Ksenia worked in a senior role with Gazprombank, which makes millions selling energy to the West.
Ksenia also escaped EU and US sanctions last month. She is a fan of lavish European holidays. Her fitness blogger boyfriend Alexey Stolyarov whisked her off to Italy last year after she had a baby daughter
Sergey Lavrov, foreign minister
Lavrov, 71 – who accused the UK of staging the Salisbury poisonings – was sanctioned by the Government last month.
His mistress’s daughter Polina Kovaleva owns a Kensington flat she bought for £4.4million when just 21. Now 26, she does not appear to have an obvious source of income, despite regular foreign holidays. She is the director of two active UK companies - real estate firm PPK Investments and Hotbox Holdings, which manages restaurants.
Lavrov, who worked as a Russian envoy to the UN, lived in the USA for 17 years and also has daughter Ekaterina, 40, by wife Maria. She moved to London and is married to a Cambridge graduate who now owns 180 restaurants across Russia.
Viktor Zolotov
Director of the National Guard of Russia and Putin’s ex-bodyguard, Viktor Zolotov has been sanctioned by almost every major Western democracy except the UK.
The US targeted him in 2018, over controversies, including Russia’s annexation of Crimea and his support for Syrian president Bashar-al-Assad.
Further sanctions were imposed by Washington last month over the invasion of Ukraine.
Australia took similar measures. He was already facing sanctions in the EU for threatening opposition leader Alexei Navalny with violence in 2021.
Boris and Arkady Rotenberg
These brothers, members of Russia’s richest family, are childhood friends of Putin.
They are both subject to UK sanctions but much of the luxury property here linked to their family is believed to have been bought by offshore trusts.
Arkady, who founded the SMP bank and is Putin’s judo partner, was first sanctioned by the UK over links to a PR campaign allegedly designed to brainwash children in annexed Crimea into thinking they were Russian.
The 70-year-old tycoon is believed to be involved in a court battle over the £30million Surrey mansion where ex-wife Natalia, 41, lives.
Arkady’s son Igor has also been sanctioned in the UK for “close familial ties” to Putin, but his other adult children Pavel and Liliya are not on the list.
Younger brother Boris, 65, was sanctioned in the UK last month. US authorities have also sanctioned his wife Karina and sons Roman and Boris but none of the family have faced similar measures in the UK. Roman, 40, has British citizenship and lives in a London home worth around £8million
Igor Shuvalov, former deputy PM
The politician and key Putin pal is chairman of Russian state bank VEB.RF.
He owns a reported £11million worth of luxury London property. He was sanctioned by the Government last week. But unlike the US, British officials have failed to impose similar restrictions on his family despite evidence of some having had business ties to London.
Britain does not sanction unless officials believe a person is of interest to the government. His daughter Maria, 24, a dancer with the worldfamous Bolshoi Ballet, has had ties here. Her social media is awash with snaps from luxury holidays in European resorts.
At 18, she was listed as the majority shareholder in a firm based in Mayfair called Regional Property Developments Ltd, before it was dissolved in 2019. Her brother Evegeny, 28, owned the largest stake until 2017. Their property magnate mum Olga has also escaped sanctions. In 2016, she flew to the UK on a private jet to exhibit corgis at a Windsor dog show– because her pets were said to find first class “too uncomfortable”
