The British government has made and approved a blacklist of oligarchs close to the Kremlin whose freedom of movement in the UK and the rest of Europe will be restricted.
The list, which was recently signed by British Prime Minister Theresa May, includes Rosneft executive chairman Igor Sechin, Evraz co-owner Roman Abramovich, MegaFon primary shareholder Alisher Usmanov, RusAl owner Oleg Deripaska, as well as the brothers Arkady and Boris Rotenberg, who have all amassed wealth from Russian government contracts during Vladimir Putin’s presidency.
Citing high-ranking British officials, The Telegraph says the list of six wealthy high-profile Russians has been drawn up by intelligence agencies and submitted to Theresa May.
The Prime Minister has reportedly approved the list and the names of the oligarchs will be circulated across Whitehall departments and shared with the UK’s allies in Europe and in North America in an attempt to disrupt their ability to travel and to maintain their business empires.
The freedom of movement of the blacklisted Russians will be restricted in the UK, Europe and “anywhere else.”
Roman Abramovich, the 11th wealthiest person in Russia with an estimated $10.8 billion according to Forbes, was reportedly placed on the list because he “provides Putin with the most significant financial support”. Deripaska (worth $6.8 billion) is also believed to support the Kremlin financially, according to The Telegraph.
In the report, Igor Sechin is named the “energy baron” and “Russia’s most powerful oligarch”.
The list of Kremlin-linked oligarchs was ratified three days after London announced the end of the Tier 1 “golden visa” program. These visas were particularly popular among Russians and Chinese, and were issued for a period of three years and four months, with a possible two year extension, in exchange for investments in the British economy of at least £2 million.
The document signals a ratcheting up of Britain’s new cold war with the Kremlin.
