UK imposes sanctions on Roman Abramovich over ‘clear’ links to Putin
Roman Abramovich, one of the world’s richest men, was finally subjected to sanctions by the UK government after ministers accused him of having “clear connections” to Vladimir Putin’s regime and being among a group of businessmen who had “blood on their hands”.
The owner of Chelsea FC was one of seven Russians worth up to £15bn who had their assets frozen on Thursday and were banned from travelling to Britain in a move designed to dramatically increase pressure on the Kremlin over its invasion of Ukraine.
The sanctions against Abramovich – years after campaigners first raised concerns about his ties to the Russian president – left the London football club in turmoil, with his plans to sell it frozen indefinitely.
After weeks of pressure to act more aggressively against the oligarchs who have made the UK their home, Boris Johnson said Abramovich had been targeted because of his links to Putin. “You have to have clear evidence that they are connected to the Putin regime, and that has been established. That’s why we are going ahead with the sanctions that we are,” he said.
The foreign secretary, Liz Truss, also insisted that oligarchs would “have no place in our economy or society”. She said: “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.”
Abramovich was targeted because the government’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation suspected that a steel company he had effective control of, Evraz plc, supplied steel to the Russian military to produce tanks.
The move will heap further pressure on Putin two weeks after he ordered troops to invade Ukraine in a bloody war that has seen thousands killed or injured and
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