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New sanctions announced by Foreign Secretary James Cleverly today (Wednesday聽12 April) target those who have聽knowingly assisted聽sanctioned Russia oligarchs to hide their assets in complex聽financial networks.

In the face of unprecedented international sanctions in response to Putin鈥檚 illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine 鈥� with聽over 拢18 billion of Russian and other assets frozen in the UK alone 鈥� oligarchs have scrambled to shield their wealth with the help of financial fixers, offshore trusts,聽shell companies, and聽even聽using聽their family members.

Now UK experts have uncovered their聽financial networks 鈥� tracing those responsible for facilitating the activity and sanctioning them directly with聽asset freezes, travel bans, transport sanctions,聽and trust services sanctions. Working in partnership across Whitehall, the FCDO, HMRC, NCA, OFSI and others such as DfT, are enforcing sanctions and pursuing those who try to undermine them.

Among聽those sanctioned are Demetris Ioannides and Christodoulos Vassiliades, 2 Cypriot professional enablers supporting major Russian oligarchs Roman聽Abramovich and Alisher Usmanov. Ioannides is responsible for crafting the murky offshore structures which Abramovich used to hide over 拢760 million assets ahead of being sanctioned following Putin鈥檚 illegal invasion of Ukraine. Vassiliades, a Cypriot lawyer, is at the centre of a web of trusts and offshore companies that link Usmanov and Sutton Place Estate.

The UK has also targeted Usmanov鈥檚 financial network, including聽companies USM,聽Curzon Square Limited, and Hanley Limited. Sanctioning these companies ensures that assets associated with Usmanov 鈥� including the 拢90 million聽Beechwood House mansion in London 鈥� remain sanctioned.聽Curzon Square Limited, the outfit that acted as Usmanov鈥檚 London office and聽as聽leaseholder of a Grade II mansion on Curzon Square, is also subject to an asset freeze.聽Vladimir and聽Varvara Skoch, the father and daughter of Usmanov鈥檚 business partner and聽鈥漴ichest man in the Duma鈥澛燗ndrei Skoch,聽have also been sanctioned.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said:

We are聽closing the net on the Russian elite and those who try to help them hide their money for war.

There鈥檚 no place to hide. We will keep聽cutting聽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聽the war.

We won鈥檛 stop until Putin does.

Today鈥檚 package聽hits a number of聽family members of other聽oligarchs, who are used as proxies to hide their assets. This includes:

• Tatiana聽Evtushenkova,聽the acting director of firm Redline Capital聽which is owned by聽her father,聽Vladimir聽Evtushenkov
• Natalia聽Evtushenkov,聽wife of Vladimir Evtushenkov聽who holds board positions in banks and other companies in which her husband owns stakes聽including MTS Bank. She is also on the board of directors for聽Telecomms聽company聽Instacom聽International, which is owned by her husband
• Felix聽Evtushenkov, whose father Vladimir聽transferred聽10% of聽shares in Russian conglomerate Sistema to Felix at the time of his own designation,聽bringing Vladimir鈥檚 stake to below 50%
• Gulnara聽Kerimova,聽who holds four luxury villas in France on behalf of her father聽Suleyman聽Kerimov
• Nariman聽Gadzhiev,聽who acts as the beneficiary owner of a series of聽shell companies connected to聽Kerimov.聽A company linked to聽Gadzhiev聽was found to be transferring hundreds of millions of dollars to companies linked to his uncle聽Kerimov
• Oksana聽Marchenko,聽the wife of key Putin ally Victor聽Medvedchuk, and owner of multiple luxury properties in Crimea

Today鈥檚 package comes as part of the UK鈥檚 crackdown on all forms of evasion and circumvention - including an additional 拢50 million announced as part of the new Economic Deterrence Initiative to support sanctions enforcement and continued work with international partners.

The Home Secretary also recently announced the expansion of the National Crime Agency鈥檚 Combating Kleptocracy Cell to target corrupt elites and their enablers.

The UK, alongside international partners, is also continuing to strengthen the unprecedented sanctions聽imposed to constrain Russia鈥檚 capacity to wage its illegal war 鈥� including through the new聽enforcement co-ordination mechanism聽to聽bolster聽the compliance and enforcement of our measures.

By implementing these measures, the UK is聽ensuring 鈥� consistent with its legal systems 鈥� that Putin and those who continue to support his war have no access to any of these assets until they end their violation of Ukraine鈥檚聽sovereignty聽and territorial integrity.