Britain imposed sanctions against Kabaeva, Putin's ex-wife and relatives

The UK is imposing sanctions on the "inner circle" of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has announced Foreign Minister Liz Truss . Under the restrictions, as follows from the message, were the athlete and former State Duma deputy Alina Kabaeva, Putin's ex-wife Lyudmila Ocheretnaya, as well as cousins ​​and friends of the president.

The British government report notes that these people are Putin's "purses", "a shadow network that supports his luxurious lifestyle."

12 people were sanctioned:

• Alina Kabaeva, former Olympic champion in rhythmic gymnastics, and now chairman of the board of directors of the National Media Group. The report notes that she may have a "close personal relationship with Putin."
• Anna Zatsepilina, grandmother of Alina Kabaeva. According to the UK, she received a "luxury apartment in Moscow" from Gennady Timchenko.
• Lyudmila Ocheretnaya, ex-wife of Putin. It is said that after the divorce, she "enjoyed benefits in business relations with government agencies."
• Igor Putin, Putin's "cousin" and "Russian businessman".
• Mikhail Putin, a "relative" of Putin, deputy chairman of the board of the Sogaz insurance company and deputy chairman of the board of Gazprom.
• Roman Putin, businessman, Putin's "cousin". It is noted that he "publicly speaks about his relationship with Putin and emphasizes that this family connection helped his company Putin Consulting with foreign investors."
• Mikhail Shelomov, "Russian businessman and Putin's cousin." The report notes that "Shelomov's company Accept LLC allegedly shares the same employees with JSC Binom, which is registered as the owner of Putin's Palace." This was mentioned in the investigation of Alexei Navalny about the “palace” near Gelendzhik: according to him, five managers of the Binom company, to which the “palace” is registered, are full-time employees of the “Accept”, owned by Shelomov. The British Foreign Office also notes that Shelomov “through Accept is a shareholder of Rossiya Bank, which is closely associated with the Kremlin.”
• Alexander Plekhov, “a close friend of Putin,” who “benefited from his relationship with Putin, and his Vital Development Corporation, from state-favoured treatment.”
• Mikhail Klishin, Executive Director of Rossiya Bank, member of the Board of Directors of Sogaz.
• Vladimir Kolbin, "the son of Putin's childhood friend and alleged business partner Pyotr Kolbin", allegedly "enjoyed the support of the Russian government" and was the general director of the Gelendzhik seaport.
• Yuri Shamalov, "son of Nikolai Shamalov and brother of Putin's former son-in-law Kirill." The British government notes that he "is part of a new elite of children of Putin's closest associates and quickly rose to the position of president of Gazfond and a member of the board of directors of Gazprombank."
• Viktor Khmarin, "Russian lawyer and businessman, Putin's friend and relative by marriage."

The sanctions include travel bans and asset freezes, including a ban on UK citizens or businesses from doing anything with companies or foundations owned by sanctioned individuals.

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Earlier, The Wall Street Journal, citing sources , reported that the United States had prepared a package of sanctions against Alina Kabaeva, but postponed its introduction. According to the publication, US officials feared Putin's aggressive reaction to the move and "a further escalation of tensions between Russia and the United States."