In a major crackdown on oligarch enablers, the United Kingdom has sanctioned individuals and companies who are accused of acting as “financial fixers” for Russia’s Roman Abramovich and Alisher Usmanov, on Wednesday.
In a statement, Britain’s Foreign Office has said that the new measures targeted those who have assisted the two businessmen to thwart the full cost of sanctions that were imposed after Russia’s war on Ukraine.
The recent restrictions include the freezing of assets and a ban on the traveling of two Cypriot citizens – Demetris Ioannides and Christodoulos Vassiliades- who are allegedly responsible for services rendered to Usmanov and Abramovich.
“We are closing the net on the Russian elite and those who try to help them hide their money for war. We will keep cutting them off from assets they thought were successfully hidden,” Foreign Minister James Cleverly said.
Britain froze the assets of Abramovich and Usmanov within weeks of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
