© Toby Melville / Archyde.com
File Image: A sign is seen at the entrance to Stamford Bridge, the home ground of Chelsea Football Club, after Russian businessman Roman Abramovich said he would sell Chelsea, 19 years after buying it, amid mounting pressure for the oligarchs are affected by sanctions after the Russian invasion in Ukraine. London, UK, on March 3, 2022.
While the United Kingdom continues to impose economic sanctions on Russia to “remove it from the world economy,” President Putin and his allies, the government continues to dodge controversy over a system that for years has made it easier for those close to the Kremlin to establish and operate from London.
Russian influence in London seems increasingly obvious, and not only because of the outrageous prices of houses in the most exclusive areas of the city.
Since Vladimir Putin began his war against Ukraine, eyes have not only been directed to the Kremlin but also to the British capital, from where allies of the Russian president operate, amass and enjoy their immense fortunes.
The British response has been to sanction these oligarchs and, incidentally, do a kind of introspection on their laws that turned London into ‘Londongrad’.
The Johnson government has been highly criticized because while imposing sanctions, which do not cover all those close to Putin, it has allowed the operation of a type of system that received them in London without further investigation for years.
Transparency International in the United Kingdom revealed that Russian citizens accused of financial crimes or close to the Kremlin have properties in the country for at least 1,500 million pounds sterling, although the figure could be higher, since there is currently no mechanism that allows knowing who they are the true owners of the properties, many acquired from abroad.
Transparency International speaks of 90,000 properties in the name of secret companies.
According to ‘The Daily Telegraph’, there were so many Russians buying mansions in London that, in 2007, property prices increased by 36.5%, which makes it practically impossible even today to buy a house for a person outside of Russia. these circles.
The war in Ukraine has been the strongest episode in a list of confrontations between London and Moscow in which the British government has promised exemplary sanctions.
Like the assassination in London of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, poisoned with polonium in 2006, and the assassination attempt on Sergei and Yulia Skripal with Novichok in Salisbury in 2018.
British Parliament calls for more sanctions
Like the United States and the European Union, the United Kingdom is acting in coordination with its allies so that the price for the Russian economy is as high as possible, hitting the objectives of Putin and his allies.
“Our goal is to cripple the Russian economy and starve Putin’s war machine,” said Foreign Minister Liz Truss.
The “unprecedented” sanctions package presented by Boris Johnson essentially covers oligarchs, banks, companies, airlines and ships. The government has promised to publish the complete list of all those associated with Putin and who have any relationship with the United Kingdom.
Seven banks have been excluded from the SWIFT international payment system.
British ports will not allow the entry of any “Russian-flagged, registered, owned, controlled, chartered or operated” vessel.
One of the most drastic measures prevents the Russian central bank CBR from accessing its international resources to help cushion the crisis in its economy and the collapse of the ruble.
That includes curbing the use of the British financial system, essentially the City of London, considered the most powerful financial district in the world, but about which there would also be a shroud of doubt.
“Russian money is so ubiquitous, so notorious in the UK capital that the world financial center was nicknamed ‘Londongrad’ long ago,” says the Washington Post.
Anticipating the cascade of criticism for also having a relaxed immigration system that benefits millionaires who want to settle in England, the Ministry of the Interior ended the Golden Visa.
These were issued to those who invested at least 2 million pounds sterling in the country.
Parliament is also expected to approve a law in the coming days that will identify the true owners and their properties in the country.
These measures will undoubtedly cause effects on the British economy, which had begun to take off after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Roman Abramovich, in the crosshairs?
In Parliament, the head of the opposition, Keir Starmer, questioned the Government for the lack of a strong hand and sanctions against Roman Abramovich, who is considered one of the closest to Putin, whose link ceased to be a screaming secret a long time ago .
Just hours later, the billionaire announced the start of the sale of his successful Chelsea football club, which he had bought in 2003.
In a statement, Abramovich has promised that all the resources will go to a foundation that will be in charge of helping the victims of the war in Ukraine.
“It includes providing critical funding for victims’ urgent and immediate needs, as well as supporting long-term recovery work,” their statement says.
Abramovich, 55, who began making his fortune in the oil industry after his career as governor of the Chukotka region, has tried to be an informal mediator between Russia and Ukraine.
According to the ‘Daily Mail’, he would be selling his portfolio of assets in London, valued at 200 million pounds sterling, fearing that these will be frozen by the authorities.
Labor MP Chris Bryant has also questioned the government’s delay in imposing sanctions on Abramovich. “It will have sold everything by the time it’s time to sanction it,” he warned.
Who was sanctioned, a few hours after Labor requested it, was Igor Shuvalov, a former Russian deputy minister, owner of two exclusive apartments near Parliament, valued at 11 million pounds sterling.
The Foreign Office explained the reason why it was included in the red list. “He is a critical part of Putin’s inner circle and spearheaded Russia’s bid for the 2018 World Cup.”
So far, only 11 oligarchs have been sanctioned by the British government, a very low figure compared to the 26 in the European Union and considering the Russian influence in England.
Their assets have been frozen and travel restrictions imposed on them.
Russian donations in the heart of the ‘Tories’
Generous donations to the Conservative party, of which Boris Johnson is head, have come under scrutiny. Not only for the amounts but for the donors.
One of them is Lubov Chernukhin, wife of Vladimir Chernukhin, Putin’s former deputy finance minister who, according to ‘The Guardian’, is “one of the largest female donors in recent British political history.”
‘The Guardian’ states that Chernukhin has donated to the Conservative party since 2012, 2.1 million pounds sterling. For that sum she was able to play tennis with Johnson and attend a private dinner attended by former Prime Minister Theresa May.
Chernukhin has been known to have a British passport since 2011, making his donations legal.
Those generous contributions have given him a seat within the party’s elite, guaranteeing him a place of honor on a kind of ‘petit committee’ of that party’s ultra-rich donors, giving him access to a monthly meeting with the first minister and finance minister.
Little is known about Lubov Chernukhin’s dealings, but her name and that of her husband appeared in the journalistic investigation of the Pandora Papers.
The British Parliament asks that in addition to the sanctions being adopted quickly, they are really effective.