Russian oligarchs may face confiscation of property in London

British Foreign Minister Liz Truss allowed the confiscation of the property of Russian oligarchs in London. A bill to expand sanctions in connection with the situation around Ukraine will be presented next week.

plans to target restrictive measures against “any company of interest to the Kremlin” Truss announced on Sky News. According to her, the business elite “close to Putin” and enterprises “promoting the interests of the Russian regime” will have “nowhere to hide” from sanctions.

When asked whether the property of Russian oligarchs in London could be confiscated, Truss replied that "all proposals are being considered." Who and how will fall under the restrictions, is not specified.

“The most important thing is to protect the principles of freedom and democracy. This is much more important than current financial issues,” commented the head of the British Foreign Office on the possible consequences of sanctions for the country. According to media reports, the bill should be submitted on Monday.

• As Bloomberg wrote , the ease with which Russian billionaires can withdraw capital to the UK casts doubt on the effectiveness of the sanctions being discussed in case of aggression against Ukraine. Experts estimate that in London, Russians who are allegedly involved in corruption or have ties to the Kremlin have bought property worth about 1.5 billion pounds ($2 billion).
• In the spring of 2018, at the peak of the scandal surrounding the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich lost his investor visa, which he used to live in the UK, where he owns real estate and the Chelsea football club. After that, the billionaire received Israeli citizenship. Last year it became known that Abramovich became a citizen of Portugal under the law on the naturalization of Sephardic Jews.