“Involved in Killing”
London sanctions Lavrov’s daughter and oligarchs
03/24/2022, 12:13 p.m
The British government has been criticized for taking too lax action against Russian oligarchs. Now there is a new package of sanctions that will freeze accounts and impose travel bans. The stepdaughter of Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov, who lives in London, is also affected.
A month after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the UK launched further sanctions against influential Russians and Russian banks. This also reportedly includes the London-based stepdaughter of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Polina Kovalyova, according to British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.
The private mercenary group Wagner, which has been linked to several attempts to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, is also being sanctioned. Alfa Bank, founded by several oligarchs, and other financial institutions, including Tinkoff Bank, are now on the British sanctions list. Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven and German Khan are named. The boss of the big Russian Sberbank, Herman Gref, is also among them. Also listed is Alrosa, the world’s largest producer of diamonds.
“Anyone sanctioned in the UK today will have their assets frozen, meaning no UK citizen or company can trade with them,” Truss said Message according to. Travel bans would also be imposed. “These oligarchs, corporations and hired criminals are complicit in the killing of innocent civilians and it is right that they pay for it.”
Ukrainian collaborator also affected
According to a British government statement, there are also sanctions against a person “who is currently collaborating with Russian forces in Ukraine”: Halyna Danilchenko, who was appointed by Russia as the alleged mayor of Melitopol. The actual mayor, Ivan Fedorov, was initially kidnapped, but then released “from captivity,” according to the Ukrainian government.
With the new round of sanctions, Great Britain says it has imposed sanctions on more than 1,000 Russian individuals or companies since the outbreak of the Ukraine war. However, there is criticism that the British government is too lax and slow to take action against oligarchs, who have enjoyed a lot of freedoms, especially in London. During his visit to the NATO summit in Brussels, Johnson also said that one had to look at what could be done to “prevent Putin from using his gold reserves”.