Ukraine war: What do we know about the Russian oligarchs sanctioned by the UK?

Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich among seven mega-rich Russians hit in latest tranche of sanctions

Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich is among a number of Russian oligarchs to be sanctioned by the UK as the government seeks to put pressure on those with alleged links to president Vladimir Putin.

The billionaire, who took over the west London club in 2003 for a reported £140 million, also has stakes in steel giant Evraz, which has a listing on the London Stock Market, and Norilsk Nickel, a mining and smelting company based in Russia.

He sold a 73 per cent stake in Russian oil firm Sibneft to state-owned gas titan Gazprom for £9.87 billion in 2005.

Mr Abramovich’s net worth is an estimated £9.4 billion and he is one of the few “oligarchs” from the 1990s to maintain prominence under Russian president Mr Putin, the UK Foreign Office said.

Most experts describe Russia as a “kleptocracy” - a state whose corrupt leaders use political power to steal the wealth of the people and land they govern. It is alleged that close friends and allies of Mr Putin have accumulated vast amounts of wealth and influence as the former KGB agent rose through the political ranks.

“Today’s sanctions show once again that oligarchs and kleptocrats have no place in our economy or society,” Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, said when announcing the move. “With their close links to Putin they are complicit in his aggression.”

“The blood of the Ukrainian people is on their hands. They should hang their heads in shame,” she added. “Our support for Ukraine will not waver. We will not stop in this mission to ramp up the pressure on the Putin regime and choke off funds to his brutal war machine.”

Abramovich celebrates Chelsea’s FIFA Club World Cup win in February (FIFA via Getty)

The government described Mr Abramovich, who recently put Chelsea up for sale, as “a prominent Russian businessman and pro-Kremlin oligarch.” The 55-year-old has previously denied that he has close personal or financial ties to Mr Putin.

He is one of seven oligarchs to be targeted in the UK’s latest tranche of sanctions, which the government described as a “£15 billion hit” and includes a freeze of assets, travel bans and transport sanctions.

An asset freeze prevents a designated UK citizen, or any business in the UK, from dealing with any funds or economic resources which are owned, held or controlled by the designated person and which are held in the UK. “It will also prevent funds or economic resources being provided to or for the benefit of the designated person,” according to the government.

On travel bans, the Foreign Office said the designated person “must be refused leave to enter or to remain in the United Kingdom”.

The transport sanctions make it a criminal offence for any Russian aircraft to fly or land in the UK, and give the government “powers to remove aircraft belonging to designated Russian individuals and entities from the UK aircraft register, even if the sanctioned individual is not on board.” Russian ships are also banned from UK ports.

These are the other six Russians to have been slapped with sanctions:

Oleg Deripaska

Mr Deripaska has stakes in En+ Group, a major extractives and energy company which owns UC Rusal, one of the world’s major aluminium producers, the government said.

He has a multi-million pound property portfolio in the UK and his net worth is estimated to be £2 billion, it added. The US designated Deripaska in 2018. He previously denied any wrongdoing.

Igor Sechin

“Mr Sechin is the chief executive of Rosneft, a Russian state oil company and a particularly close and influential ally of Putin,” the government said. “Sechin has been sanctioned by the US and EU.”

Last week, a luxury superyacht  belonging to Mr Sechin was seized in the the French port of La Ciotat and Dilbar, officials there said. It is valued at £86m according to VesselsValue and is registered to a company whose main shareholder is Mr Sechin, the officials added.

Andrey Kostin

Mr Kostin is chairman of VTB bank, the second largest in Russia. VTB Bank was designated by the UK on 24 February 2022.

“Kostin is a close associate of Putin, and has long supported Kremlin objectives through VTB Bank,” the government said.  His net worth is an estimated £379 million. He has been sanctioned by the US and EU and denies any wrongdoing.

Alexei Miller

Mr Miller is CEO of energy company Gazprom, making him one of the most important executives “supporting the Russian government.” Mr Miller served under Mr Putin in the 1990s when he was deputy mayor in St Petersburg. He has been sanctioned by the US and denies any wrongdoing.

Nikolai Tokarev

Mr Tokarev is president of the Russia state-owned pipeline company Transneft. He first met Mr Putin when both served as KGB officers in Dresden in East Germany in the 1980s. “They have remained closely associated ever since,” the government said. Tokarev has been sanctioned by the US and EU and denies any wrongdoing.

Dmitri Lebedev

Mr Lebedev is chairman of the board of directors of Bank Rossiya. The UK designated Bank Rossiya, widely considered to be the Kremlin’s private bank, on 22 February 2022. Mr Lebedev was sanctioned by the US in 2016 and denies any wrongdoing.