$17bn of Global Assets Linked to 35 Russians with Alleged Ties to Putin

THE GUARDIAN: International collaboration tracks wealth of oligarchs and officials accused by western governments of being president’s supporters

More than $17bn (£13bn) of global assets – including offshore bank accounts, yachts, private jets and luxury properties in London, Tuscany and the French Riviera – have been linked to 35 oligarchs and Russian officials alleged to have close ties to Vladimir Putin.

Today, the Guardian, working in a partnership with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project , Süddeutsche Zeitung and other international news organisations, is unveiling the initial research in an ongoing project to track the wealth of Russia’s most powerful operators.

The Russian asset tracker project will start by focusing on a list of 35 men and women named last year as Putin’s alleged enablers by the jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny. It will record assets outside Russia where the reporting partners have seen evidence connecting them to these individuals.

Navalny’s organisation wrote to western governments requesting the names on its list be considered for sanctions and all but two have since been blacklisted by either the US, EU, UK or Canada. » | Simon Goodley, Kalyeena Makortoff and Jasper Jolly | Monday, March 21, 2022

What Is an Oligarch? Here’s What You Need to Know about Russia’s Billionaires | Forbes

Mar 17, 2022 • Russia’s original oligarchs made their fortunes in the 1990s during the chaotic aftermath of the Soviet Union’s collapse, as state assets were offloaded to private bidders, often in corrupt deals. During this period of market liberalization, well-to-do businessmen, former officials and plucky entrepreneurs acquired large stakes in Russian companies in oil and gas, metals and mining, railway and transportation, agricultural products and other core industries. A newer group of oligarchs became wealthy through their ties to Putin, who has ruled Russia in one form or another since 2000.

Browder on Putin: When You Believe Your Time Is Almost Up, You Start a War | Amanpour and Company

Unprecedented sanctions have sent the Russian ruble tumbling. The U.S. has now cut off Russia’s central bank from its $630 billion so-called sanctions-proof fund. Bill Browder is CEO of Hermitage Capital and the architect of the Magnitsky Act, used by President Biden to impose sanctions on Vladimir Putin and his oligarch cronies. Browder speaks with Walter Isaacson about the tactic of cutting Putin off from his wealth. Originally aired on February 28, 2022

Russia's Oligarchs: The Limits of Their Loyalty | The Agenda

Mar 9, 2022 • What is the relationship between Russia's oligarchs and Putin's government? How has this relationship evolved since Putin rose to power? And what is the limit of their loyalty? Bill Browder, along with others, explain how Russia's oligarchs work and the end game of sanctions against them.

BBC Panorama - Roman Abramovich's Dirty Money

Mar 14, 2022 • BBC Panorama - Roman Abramovich's Dirty Money Chelsea-owner, Roman Abramovich, has been sanctioned by the UK government for his ties to Vladimir Putin. But where did the Russian billionaire’s money come from? Panorama reporter Richard Bilton travels to Siberia to investigate the corrupt deals that made his fortune. He uncovers new details about Mr Abramovich’s murky past and his relationship with the Kremlin.

Inside the Billionaire Lifestyle of Russian Oligarchs

'Ruthless': Ex-partner to Putin's Close Friend Speaks Out

Mar 18, 2022 • CNN's Erin Burnett speaks with Countess Alexandra Tolstoy, the former partner to Russian oligarch Sergei Pugachev, about their relationship with Vladimir Putin.

Putin's Opponents Say These Photos Reveal His Secret Palace

Mar 18, 2022 • Russian President Vladimir Putin says he makes just $140,000 a year. Here's how he may be one of the richest people on the planet. CNN's Drew Griffin reports.

‘Live in the Mess That Putin Has Created’: A Tour of Russian Oligarch-linked Properties in London

Mar 17, 2022 • UK government sanctions have targeted Russian oligarchs’ investments in London property after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The Guardian’s wealth correspondent, Rupert Neate, takes us on a short tour of some of the properties owned by or linked to people named in UK or EU sanctions lists. But will anyone answer the door?

U.K. vs. Oligarchs: ‘The Gloves Are Now Off’

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Russia’s war in Ukraine has finally led the British government to go after ultrawealthy Russians in London. But curbing the flood of corrupt money will require going after more than the big names.

A view of London. Some Britons are calling on their government to curb a phenomenon that some call the “London laundromat.” | Andrew Testa for The New York Times
LONDON — On Friday, the day after Britain blacklisted seven prominent Russian oligarchs, residents of the wealthy London borough of Kensington and Chelsea rolled a washing machine overflowing with fake pound notes in front of a multimillion-dollar townhouse belonging to the family of the president of Azerbaijan.

It was a camera-ready stunt that made a serious point: For Britain to be successful in curbing the flood of dirty money — a phenomenon some call the “London laundromat” — it needs to go further than imposing sanctions on highly visible Russians like Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner of the Chelsea soccer club.

The Azerbaijani leader, Ilham Aliyev, is one of hundreds of wealthy foreigners who have exploited Britain’s lax regulations to amass property and other assets, often under a web of offshore companies that disguise their ownership. Others have parlayed their fortunes into gilt-edged social status, endowing revered British cultural and educational institutions, or donating money to the Conservative Party.

Targeting these figures will be even more challenging than going after boldface names like Mr. Abramovich, whose ties to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia are longstanding and well documented. But the protesters in Kensington said such an effort was crucial if Britain genuinely wanted to rid itself of the taint of dirty money. » | Mark Landler and Stephen Castle | Sunday, March 13, 2022

UK Freezes Assets of Seven Russian Oligarchs Including Roman Abramovich

THE GUARDIAN: Others added to sanction list are Igor Sechin, Oleg Deripaska, Andrey Kostin, Alexei Miller, Nikolai Tokarev and Dmitri Lebedev

Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich. Photograph: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images
Chelsea football club owner, Roman Abramovich, is among seven of Russia’s wealthiest and most influential oligarchs who have been sanctioned by the UK in an effort to further punish allies of Vladimir Putin over the invasion of Ukraine.

Abramovich was found by the UK government to have “received preferential treatment and concessions” from the Kremlin and through his business links been “involved in destabilising Ukraine and undermining and threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence” of the eastern European country.

The Foreign Office said he was implicated through a steel manufacturing and mining company, Evraz PLC, in which he had a significant shareholding and over which he exercised effective control.

It said the firm may have supplied steel to the Russian military for the production of tanks. » | Aubrey Allegretti, Political correspondent | Thursday, March 10, 2022

Roman’s empire: how the seeds of Abramovich’s demise were there all along: Almost 20 years after his high profile purchase, the oligarch is looking to sell Chelsea. Here’s the story of how it unravelled »

Abramovich superyacht heads west across Mediterranean after sanctions: Solaris is tracked off coast of Sicily, joining hurried sailings of Russian yachts to avoid seizure »

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UK to ease entry requirements for Ukrainian refugees, says Priti Patel: Change means people with passports can apply for entry online and do not have to give biometric details until they are in UK »

How Hard Will Sanctions Hurt Russia's Oligarchs? | DW News

Mar 8, 2022 • Russian oligarchs have long enjoyed the European high life, with their yachts, jets and multi-million euro mansions dotted around the continent's beauty spots. However they're now the target of strict sanctions from the EU and other European nations, as well as the US, aimed at hurting Russia's richest and most powerful.

The "Lady M," is a luxury yacht worth around 65 million euros. The vessel was seized over the weekend on the Italian Mediterranean coast. The owner: Alexei Mordashov, one of the richest men in Russia is a major shareholder in the German tourism company TUI.

Yachts, airplanes, company shares and luxury real estate abroad are considered assets and therefore fall under the sanctions against the country.

On the Cote d' Azur, a mega-yacht owned by Russian billionaire and Putin supporter Igor Setchin was prevented from sailing. Literally at the last minute. It is valued at around 120 million euros.

Sanctions are hitting the richest Russians, such as Putin confidant and entrepreneur, Alisher Usmanov. His luxury yacht is one of the largest in the world, worth around 600 million euros. It’s docked in a shipyard in Hamburg and could soon be confiscated.

The US has also imposed sanctions on Usmanov and seven other oligarchs close to Putin. These include Nikolay Tokarev, the head of energy giant Transneft, as well as billionaire Arkady Rotenberg and his brother. There are also visa restrictions on 19 other Russian billionaires. Yevgeny Prigozhin is on the FBI's wanted list. He is known as Putin's cook, running a catering company that serves meals to the Kremlin. He is also believed to be one of the founders of the Wagner Group, a paramilitary unit that recently sent 400 mercenaries in an attempt to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Russian Investment in Brexit and the Tories Now Paying Off

Mar 5, 2022 • As the tragedy in Ukraine continues to unfold, all my thoughts and sympathies are with the Ukrainian people resisting the invasion and those seeking to protect their families, and I want our government to do everything it can to help these people. You just have to ask the question: Why is this government, brought into power on the back of a Russian-funded Brexit campaign, a Tory Party in government that has received millions of pounds of donations from Russian billionaires, taking so long to sanction Russian billionaires?

Michael Lambert: Patel Lets Desperate Ukrainians Know They Are Not Welcome in the UK

Mar 5, 2022 • Whilst the whole world looks on in horror at the terrible events happening in Ukraine, the UK Home Secretary, Priti Patel, the daughter of immigrants, does everything possible to make it difficult for desperate refugees to come to the UK. Her first reaction was to make it clear that any refugees wanting to come to the UK would have to subject themselves to our new points-based immigration system involving lengthy bureaucracy including testing for English proficiency and general knowledge about the UK.

Whilst other countries all over Europe were abandoning all controls for these desperate people, Patel went to the Commons and announced that certain people might be permitted to come to the UK, but only if they could prove they had very close relatives in the UK. In the meantime, one of her ministers, Kevin Foster, announced that the refugees could apply to come to the UK to pick fruit!

Under Pate,l the government's immigration is in chaos. Following Brexit, whole families are coming to the UK from the Third World to replace individual former EU nurses, and others. Furthermore, money launderers operate with impunity and many others are able to employ workers for cash-in-hand and make no payments to the Pat-As-You-Earn scheme( PAYE) or make any National Insurance contributions (NIC.)

Applicants for asylum or British nationality are kept waiting for up to ten years or more whilst being told they are not permitted to work.


You can view Michael Lambert's earlier video on Priti Patel here.

Biden Imposes Sanctions on Russian Oligarchs, 'Putin's Cronies'

BBC: The US has announced fresh sanctions on Russian oligarchs - the latest attempt to squeeze President Vladimir Putin as his invasion of Ukraine continues.

The new penalties will target members of the Russian elite, their families and close associates, cutting them off from the US financial system.

"The goal is to maximise the impact on Putin," US President Joe Biden said.

Dmitry Peskov, Mr Putin's press secretary, is among those targeted in the latest blockade.

Mr Peskov, 54, is already sanctioned by the European Union, and now joins a list of eight oligarchs and nearly two dozen of their family members and associates whose assets in the US will be frozen, and have their American properties blocked from use. » | BBC | Thursday, March 3, 2022

Property of Russian elites could be handed to Ukrainian refugees, says Raab: Deputy PM defends response to invasion after criticism the government has acted too slowly over sanctions »

Tensions Rise at the £3bn Surrey Estate Russian Oligarchs Call Home

THE GUARDIAN: The secretive owners of mansions at St George’s Hill will be nervous about making an appearance on Liz Truss’s hitlist

St George’s Hill, near Weybridge, has been called Britain’s Beverly Hills. At least a quarter of its houses are owned by people from former Soviet states. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian
The warning to rich Russians linked to Putin that the UK government “will come after you” and ensure oligarchs have “nowhere to hide” is likely to hit hard at the gated luxury housing estate in Surrey dubbed “Britain’s Beverly Hills”.

Russians and those from former Soviet states own more than a quarter of the 430 luxurious homes in St George’s Hill, a heavily guarded 964-acre estate near Weybridge, Surrey, where mansions have changed hands for more than £20m each.

Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, said on Sunday that the government was drawing up a “hitlist” of oligarchs with links to Putin who will be added to the sanctions list in coming days and weeks.

“We have to make it deeply painful for the oligarchs that support the Putin regime. There are over a hundred Russian billionaires,” she told the Sunday Times. “Nothing is off the table in terms of who or what we are targeting. We are very clear about that – we are very prepared to do what it takes.”

Brad, one of six fluorescent jacket-wearing security guards who prevented the Guardian from entering St George’s Hill, said there were more Russians living on the estate now than at any time in his six years working at the gate. » | Rupert Neate, Wealth correspondent | Monday, February 28, 2022

Ukrainian Sailor Arrested for Trying to Sink Oligarch’s Superyacht

THE GUARDIAN: Mechanic on Lady Anastasia, owned by Russian arms exporter, sought revenge for attacks on Kyiv

Lady Anastasia, pictured in Palamos harbour in Catalonia, is owned by Alexander Mikheev, head of Rosoboronexport. Photograph: Dieter Wanke/Alamy
A Ukrainian sailor has been arrested in Mallorca and faces charges of attempting to sink a yacht owned by Alexander Mikheev, the CEO of the Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport and former head of the Russian helicopter federation. The boat is moored in the harbour of Port Adriano.

The unnamed man, who has been employed for the past 10 years as a mechanic on the Lady Anastasia, Mikheev’s 48-metre, £5m yacht, said he felt he had to do something after seeing footage of a Russian rocket attack on a block of flats in Kyiv, his home town. The defendant told the judge that he believed the rocket had been manufactured by Mikheev’s company.

Once on board the vessel he told the crew members, most of whom are also Ukrainians, to abandon ship. He allegedly then went to the engine room and opened a large valve in an attempt to sink the yacht. The crew members, aided by port staff, intervened to prevent the sinking. » | Stephen Burgen in Barcelona | Monday, February 28, 2022

Ukraine: Russia Influence Is Now a Tory Conflict of Interest

Feb 26, 2022 • When Boris Johnson says he’s appalled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, I can’t help but think it’s because he sees it as a massive threat to future Russian funding of his party. Will Rishi Sunak, Alok Sharma, Robert Buckland and the dozen or so other Tory MPs and ministers who have taken donations linked to Russia now return them? Will Johnson’s friend, Evgeny Lebedev, the son of a KGB agent, be allowed to continue as a legislator in the House of Lords? And did Jacob Rees Smug’s Somerset Capital Management have inside information when deciding to sell all their shares in one of the Russian banks before it was sanctioned? I think we can guess the answers.


As a one time dyed-in-the-wool Tory voter, it hurts me to have to say this, but I will say it nevertheless: I wouldn't trust BoJo further than I could throw him! Nor the band of shysters he surrounds himself with. These days, the good ol' Tories–the decent ones–are nowhere to be seen on the benches of the House of Commons. – © Mark

Ukraine: Who Is Not on the UK Sanctions List?

Mr Deripaska (left) pictured with President Putin in 2014 | GETTY IMAGES
BBC: The UK government has announced more individuals and companies that it is sanctioning following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

But there are still several Russian individuals who have been sanctioned by the US or the EU but not by the UK.

Their names appeared on a list of 35 people who Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny suggested should be sanctioned, which was read out in parliament by Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran. Oleg Deripaska » | Reality Check team, BBC News | Friday, February 25, 2022

Ukraine invasion: West imposes sanctions on Russia's Putin and Lavrov: Western nations have ordered personal sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov over the invasion of Ukraine. »

MP Calls for Roman Abramovich to Be Stripped of Chelsea Ownership

Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea Football Club in 2003 but has rarely been seen in Britain recently | ALEXANDER HASSENSTEIN/UEFA/GETTY IMAGES
THE TIMES: Roman Abramovich has been named as a person of interest by the UK government due to his links to the Russian state and his “public association with corrupt activity and practices”, according to a leaked document.

A confidential Home Office document dated 2019 cited the owner of Chelsea Football Club as an example of Russian billionaires that the government was monitoring.

It stated that the government would use “the relevant tools at its disposal, including immigration powers” to prevent Russian oligarchs using the UK to facilitate illicit finance.

Abramovich is not understood to have been barred from the country by the Home Office. » | Matt Dathan, Home Affairs Editor | Thursday, February 24, 2022

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Are we Brits so damn poor that we must prostitute ourselves to these Russian oligarchs? Kick them out! It doesn’t matter how many billions they have in their shady bank accounts. Their influence is polluting our body politic. And as for giving titles such as ‘Lord’ to Russians, it is nothing short of a disgrace.

We can thank the Tories for this, of course. To Tories, the bottom line means everything; principles count for little, or perhaps nothing.

Whilst these people are allowed to influence our politics, Putin will have his poisonous tentacles wrapped around British politics too. – © Mark