UK sanctions target ‘professional enablers' accused of assisting Russian oligarchs hide assets

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) - The UK on Wednesday announced a new package of sanctions targeting “those who have knowingly assisted sanctioned Russia oligarchs to hide their assets in complex financial networks.”

“In the face of unprecedented international sanctions in response to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine – with over £18 billion ($22.4 billion) of Russian and other assets frozen in the UK alone – oligarchs have scrambled to shield their wealth with the help of financial fixers, offshore trusts, shell companies, and even using their family members,” said a statement by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

Demetris Ioannides and Christodoulos Vassiliades, two Greek Cypriot “professional enablers supporting major Russian oligarchs Roman Abramovich and Alisher Usmanov” are among those sanctioned, according to the FCDO.

The UK has also targeted Usmanov’s financial network, including companies USM, Curzon Square Limited, and Hanley Limited, the statement said.

“We are closing the net on the Russian elite and those who try to help them hide their money for war,” Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said.

He said: “There’s no place to hide. We will keep cutting them off from assets they thought were successfully hidden.

“Together with our international partners the UK will continue to crack down on those who are supporting the war. We won’t stop until Putin does.”