Sanctioned Russian oligarchs still hold dozens of unfrozen UK properties

Viktor Volokita - 3 November, 15:55

An aerial view of London showing Tower Bridge and the River Thames winding past the Tower of London. Photo: The Moscow Times

Around £700 million (US$918.7 million) worth of property previously linked to sanctioned Russian oligarchs has yet to be frozen.

Source: The Moscow Times, an independent Amsterdam-based news outlet, citing a report by Transparency International UK

Details: Analysts at Transparency International have identified 33 properties – houses, flats and office buildings – in London and Surrey that are not on the UK's register of frozen assets.

Among them is Witanhurst in Highgate, the second-largest house in London after Buckingham Palace. The mansion has been linked to Andrey Guryev, owner of the PhosAgro group, a Russian chemical holding company, although his representatives deny this.

The report also mentions a £90 million (US$118 million) mansion in Kensington Palace Gardens that is believed to belong to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. HM Land Registry lists the owner as Cyprus-based A. Corp Trustee, whose address is a building at the stadium which is home to Chelsea FC, the football club previously owned by Abramovich.

Ben Cowdock, senior investigations lead at Transparency International UK, told City A.M. that "many unrestricted properties are owned by offshore companies registered to trusts".

He added that in a number of cases, the assets may be held by sanctioned individuals' relatives, allowing restrictions to be circumvented.

Quote from Cowdock: "In theory, the UK government can examine the origins of assets, but in practice, such tools are largely absent. Overall, corporate opacity persists, which hampers effective oversight of these assets."

More details: Transparency International said that three properties are directly owned by individuals whose names match those on sanctions lists.

Quote: "It is becoming increasingly hard to explain why measures have not yet been applied to these people."

Background: Russian energy giant Lukoil has agreed to sell its international assets to energy trader Gunvor Group.

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