UK Targets Financial Advisors of Abramovich and Usmanov in Oligarch Crackdown

Today, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly announced new sanctions aimed at those knowingly aiding sanctioned Russian oligarchs in concealing their assets through intricate financial networks.

In response to unprecedented international sanctions following Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine—resulting in over £18 billion of Russian and other assets frozen in the UK—oligarchs have sought to protect their wealth with the help of financial enablers, offshore trusts, shell companies, and even relying on family members.

UK authorities have identified these financial networks, executing sanctions that include asset freezes, travel bans, transportation restrictions, and sanctions on trust services. Collaborating across various government departments, including the FCDO, HMRC, NCA, OFSI, and DfT, they are enforcing sanctions and targeting individuals trying to undermine them.

Among those sanctioned are Demetris Ioannides and Christodoulos Vassiliades, two Cypriot professionals aiding major Russian oligarchs Roman Abramovich and Alisher Usmanov. Ioannides is behind the opaque offshore structures used by Abramovich to conceal over £760 million in assets prior to being sanctioned due to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Vassiliades, a Cypriot attorney, is central to a network of trusts and offshore companies linking Usmanov and Sutton Place Estate.

The UK has also sanctioned Usmanov’s financial infrastructure, which includes USM, Curzon Square Limited, and Hanley Limited. This measure ensures that assets linked to Usmanov—such as the £90 million Beechwood House mansion in London—remain under sanction. Curzon Square Limited, which functioned as Usmanov’s London office and the leaseholder for a Grade II mansion on Curzon Square, is also facing an asset freeze. Additionally, Vladimir and Varvara Skoch, the father and daughter of Usmanov’s business associate and “richest man in the Duma” Andrei Skoch, have been sanctioned.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly stated:

We are tightening the noose around the Russian elite and those attempting to assist them in hiding their funds for war.

There’s no escape. We will continue to sever their access to assets they believed were safe.

In partnership with international allies, the UK will persist in its efforts against those supporting the war.

Our actions will not cease until Putin does.

This new package also targets several family members of other oligarchs who serve as proxies to obscure their assets, including:

• Tatiana Evtushenkova, acting director of Redline Capital, owned by her father Vladimir Evtushenkov
• Natalia Evtushenkov, the wife of Vladimir Evtushenkov, who holds board roles in companies such as MTS Bank and serves on the board of Instacom International, owned by her husband
• Felix Evtushenkov, whose father transferred 10% of shares in Sistema to him during his own sanction, reducing Vladimir’s stake below 50%
• Gulnara Kerimova, holding four luxury villas in France for her father, Suleyman Kerimov
• Nariman Gadzhiev, acting as the beneficiary owner of various shell companies associated with Kerimov, which were found to have transferred hundreds of millions to enterprises linked to his uncle
• Oksana Marchenko, spouse of key Putin ally Victor Medvedchuk, owning multiple luxury properties in Crimea

This package is part of the UK’s broader initiative against all forms of evasion and circumvention, which includes an additional £50 million designated under the new Economic Deterrence Initiative to enhance sanctions enforcement and continued collaboration with international partners.

The Home Secretary has also recently announced the expansion of the National Crime Agency’s Combating Kleptocracy Cell to target corrupt elites and their facilitators.

Alongside global partners, the UK is continuously strengthening its unprecedented sanctions imposed to limit Russia’s capacity to pursue its illegal war, including through a new enforcement coordination mechanism to enhance compliance and enforcement of these measures.

Through these actions, the UK is ensuring—consistent with its legal frameworks—that Putin and his supporters have no access to any assets until they cease their violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.