Oil, judo and lucrative contracts… What we know about the Russian oligarchs sanctioned by the United Kingdom – Liberation

In response to the recognition of the independence of the separatists in Ukraine, Great Britain froze the assets and banned from visiting its territory three Russian billionaires close to Vladimir Putin.

Each diplomatic crisis has its share of economic sanctions. To respond to Moscow’s offensive which on Monday evening recognized the independence of the pro-Russian separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, London has decided to hit those close to the Kremlin in the pocketbook. After a crisis meeting in Downing Street on Tuesday, Boris Johnson announced that the British retaliatory measures would target the “Russian economic interests that support the Russian war machine”.

This first round of retaliatory measures applies to three billionaires close to Vladimir Putin. Their assets in the UK will be frozen and they will no longer be able to travel to UK territory.

Members of the first circle

Among those sanctioned, we find Gennadi Timtchenko, founder of the huge oil trading company Gunvor and owner of several groups in the energy and transport sectors. His personal fortune is estimated at nearly $24 billion, according to the magazine Forbes. Which makes him the 78th richest man in the world today.

Even if their links are rarely mentioned publicly, Timtchenko would be very close to Putin, one of the few to have the ear of the head of the Kremlin. Considered one of the most influential oligarchs in Russia, he had already been sanctioned in 2014 by the US Treasury Department following the invasion of Crimea. If, at the time, he had been forced to sell his shares in several of his companies, Gennady Timchenko does not seem to have suffered particularly from the situation, his business continuing to do very well in Russia. He is also still co-chairman of the Economic Council of the Franco-Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIFR), making the link between CAC 40 companies and the Kremlin.

The other Russian businessmen sanctioned are the Rotenbergs, oligarchs very close to the head of the Kremlin since their childhood. Arkadi Rotenberg, his brother Boris Rotenberg and Vladimir Putin trained together in small judo. This long-standing friendship has earned the brothers and their heirs juicy contracts with the government, in particular for the exploitation of Russian gas and as part of the construction sites for the Sochi Olympic Games.

The men are so connected that Arkadi Rotenberg has not hesitated in the past to cover the tenant of the Kremlin in certain embarrassing affairs, knowing he is indebted for his fortune. He notably assured that he was the owner of the ultra-luxurious palace on the shores of the Black Sea, revealed by Alexei Navalny, which would in fact belong to Vladimir Putin. A symbol of the corruption that plagues Russia, according to the opposition.

At the same time, five Russian banks will also be affected by these sanctions. Never stingy with bravado, Boris Johnson was confident about the impact of the sanctions decided: “Have no doubt that if Russian companies are prevented from raising capital in UK financial markets, it will start to hurt.”

«Londongrad»

These statements come as the British authorities have been criticized for their inaction in the face of the flow of Russian money, suspected of sometimes coming from corruption, criminal activities and being used for influence purposes. Russian oligarchs have indeed significant assets and properties in the upscale neighborhoods of the British capital, sometimes nicknamed “Londongrad”.

The NGO Transparency International estimates at 1.5 billion pounds (1.8 billion euros) the value of real estate held in the United Kingdom by Russians accused of corruption or linked to the Kremlin, of which two thirds in paradises dependent on the British Crown, such as the British Virgin Islands and the Isle of Man.

Many fear that these sanctions will be less effective than announced, the entities targeted having been able to shelter their money thanks to the British sloppiness in tax havens or British properties via intermediaries. Under pressure, the government had already announced last week the immediate cessation of the issuance of “golden visas” reserved for wealthy investors, used in the first place according to the British press by Russian and Chinese businessmen.