Saturday, May 21, 2022

Canada Puts Sanctions on Russian Media Tycoon Alexander Lebedev

THE GUARDIAN: Oligarch with links to Boris Johnson among 14 businessmen and associates of Vladimir Putin targeted

Alexander Lebedev finances the Russian opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta. His son Evgeny owns the UK’s Evening Standard and Independent. Photograph: Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images

Canada has put sanctions on Alexander Lebedev, the former KGB agent who little more than a decade ago bought the Evening Standard and the Independent.

The Russian billionaire was named in a fresh wave of sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s regime announced on Friday that also included a ban on the import of Russian vodka, diamonds and caviar, according to the Globe and Mail.

Lebedev, whose links to the British prime minister, Boris Johnson, are well documented, has not been subjected to sanctions by the UK.

The Canadian government said the ban on trade in luxury goods and the addition of 14 oligarchs and associates of the Russian president was aligned with similar measures imposed by allies such as the US and the EU, and would “help to mitigate the potential for Russian oligarchs to circumvent restrictions in other luxury goods markets”. » | Miranda Bryant | Saturday, May 21, 2022