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Tag: oligarch

  • UK govt hits key Russian oligarchs with sanctions worth £10 b

    UK govt hits key Russian oligarchs with sanctions worth £10 b

    This will prevent these assets from being repatriated to Russia and used to fund Putin’s war machine…reports Asian Lite News

    The UK sanctioned Eugene Tenenbaum and David Davidovich, bringing the total number of oligarchs, family members and associates sanctioned to 106 since February.

    Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss announced the government will freeze assets connected with the pair estimated to total up to £10 billion, the largest asset freeze action in UK history.

    This will prevent these assets from being repatriated to Russia and used to fund Putin’s war machine.

    In addition a travel ban has been placed on Davidovich.

    These sanctions have been co-ordinated with action taken by the Jersey authorities earlier this week to impose a formal freezing order on assets suspected to be connected to Abramovich himself, valued in excess of £5 billion.

    Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said, “We are tightening the ratchet on Putin’s war machine and targeting the circle of people closest to the Kremlin. We will keep going with sanctions until Putin fails in Ukraine. Nothing and no one is off the table.”

    Eugene Tenenbaum has described himself as one of Abramovich’s closest business associates. Corporate filings show that Tenenbaum took control of Ervington Investments Limited, an Abramovich-linked investment company, on 24 February immediately following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. Tenenbaum, who is a director at Chelsea Football Club, is subject to an asset freeze.

    David Davidovich has been described by Forbes as “Abramovich’s much lower profile right hand man”, and took over Ervington Investments from Tenenbaum in March 2022. He is subject to an asset freeze and travel ban.

    Sanctions imposed by the UK and its international partners are having deep and damaging consequences for Putin’s ability to wage war. Analysis shows Russia is heading for the deepest recession since the collapse of the Soviet Union with £275 billion – 60% of Russian foreign currency reserves – currently frozen.

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  • France freezes assets of Russian bank, oligarchs

    France freezes assets of Russian bank, oligarchs

    “They’re hurting the Russian state and they’re hurting Vladimir Putin,” Bruno Le Maire told LCI television in an interview…reports Asian Lite News

    France will freeze Russian funds worth some €22 million, Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told RTL Radio on Sunday, Russian state-owned TASS news agency reported.

    The freeze of the Bank of Russia assets joins a freeze of all accounts and properties of Russian oligarchs sanctioned by the West. Russian property on French territory worth up to half a billion euros, according to Le Maire, was frozen along with two yachts worth €150 million which were confiscated.

    “We have managed to unveil and freeze the assets of Russian tycoons totally worth €1.8 billion on French territory apart from the Russian Central Bank’s assets,” the finance minister said.

    Sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine are hurting its economy and President Vladimir Putin, the finance minister added, noting that banning Russian oil and gas imports into the European Union remained an option for Paris.

    “They’re hurting the Russian state and they’re hurting Vladimir Putin,” Bruno Le Maire told LCI television in an interview.

    “Should we in the immediate stop buying Russian oil, should a little bit further down the line we stop importing Russian gas? The president has never ruled out these options.”

    Meanwhile, a senior Chinese government official said on Saturday that sanctions imposed by Western nations on Russia over Ukraine are increasingly “outrageous.”

    Vice foreign minister Le Yucheng also acknowledged Moscow’s point of view on NATO, saying the alliance should not further expand eastwards, forcing a nuclear power like Russia “into a corner.”

    China has yet to condemn Russia’s action in Ukraine or call it an invasion, though it has expressed deep concern about the war. Beijing has also opposed economic sanctions on Russia over Ukraine, which it says are unilateral and are not authorized by the UN Security Council.

    “The sanctions against Russia are getting more and more outrageous,” Le said at a security forum in Beijing, adding that Russian citizens were being deprived of overseas assets “for no reason.”

    “History has proven time and again that sanctions cannot solve problems. Sanctions will only harm ordinary people, impact the economic and financial system… and worsen the global economy.”

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