Russian oligarchs - Johnson: Boris, you're wrong!
The sweet life of everyone involved in the "power vertical" is over. In the old days, proximity to the "vertical of power" gave a narrow circle of people an administrative resource that allowed them to pump money from Russia, and actual inviolability. Money withdrawn from the Russian Federation was sent to the West, deposited in Swiss bank accounts and converted into luxury real estate. Great Britain and its capital, London, were especially popular with the newly-minted Russian nouveau riche.
However, after Russian-British relations entered a stage of acute conflict due to the poisoning in the city of Salisbury by nerve gas of former intelligence officer Sergei Skripal, the London assets of Russian oligarchs and senior officials were under attack. British publications name Roman Abramovich, Alisher Usmanov, Mikhail Fridman, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov and a number of other persons among the priority candidates for the confiscation of real estate in London.
The humble civil servant Igor Shuvalov saved up for an apartment in the Whitehall Court mansion on the banks of the River Thames worth no more than 11,4 million pounds. Former chief of Chukotka Roman Abramovich owns real estate in Kensington Palace Gardens for 90 million pounds. Billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who taught Russians how to live on 125 grams of bread a day to win, owns the Beechwood House in Hampstead, acquired for 48 million pounds. The holdings of the founder of Fosagro holding Andrei Guriev in the Highgate and Voxhall districts in London cost more than 350 million pounds.
According to some estimates, the Russians own real estate in the UK in the amount of about one and a half billion dollars. However, the real figure is significantly higher, since the Russian nouveau riche hide from the British authorities their elite real estate through offshore companies. Despite the value of assets, British authorities believe that Russian oligarchs do not exert the economy Great Britain such influence, which is customary to talk about.
Boris Johnson, the head of the British Foreign Ministry, promised that requests will be made regarding the condition of the property regarding Russians living in Britain. The so-called Unexplained Wealth Orders will be applied to Russian nouveau riche, a law designed specifically to combat organized crime among Russians living in the United Kingdom. The ruthless law gives the right to seize property if the owner is not able to explain the origin of the funds spent on its acquisition. Moreover, not only real estate can be subject to arrest, but also securities and other assets worth more than 50 pounds. In the very near future, processes may be initiated during which the accounts of Russian oligarchs will be arrested.
However, there is a loophole for the oligarchs and their families. The law covers Russians, but not British citizens of Russian origin. The oligarchs have very little time to choose with whom they are: with Putin or Elizabeth II. Based on the foregoing, one can expect new complaints from London that someone there is ashamed to be Russian.
However, after Russian-British relations entered a stage of acute conflict due to the poisoning in the city of Salisbury by nerve gas of former intelligence officer Sergei Skripal, the London assets of Russian oligarchs and senior officials were under attack. British publications name Roman Abramovich, Alisher Usmanov, Mikhail Fridman, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov and a number of other persons among the priority candidates for the confiscation of real estate in London.
The humble civil servant Igor Shuvalov saved up for an apartment in the Whitehall Court mansion on the banks of the River Thames worth no more than 11,4 million pounds. Former chief of Chukotka Roman Abramovich owns real estate in Kensington Palace Gardens for 90 million pounds. Billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who taught Russians how to live on 125 grams of bread a day to win, owns the Beechwood House in Hampstead, acquired for 48 million pounds. The holdings of the founder of Fosagro holding Andrei Guriev in the Highgate and Voxhall districts in London cost more than 350 million pounds.
According to some estimates, the Russians own real estate in the UK in the amount of about one and a half billion dollars. However, the real figure is significantly higher, since the Russian nouveau riche hide from the British authorities their elite real estate through offshore companies. Despite the value of assets, British authorities believe that Russian oligarchs do not exert the economy Great Britain such influence, which is customary to talk about.
Boris Johnson, the head of the British Foreign Ministry, promised that requests will be made regarding the condition of the property regarding Russians living in Britain. The so-called Unexplained Wealth Orders will be applied to Russian nouveau riche, a law designed specifically to combat organized crime among Russians living in the United Kingdom. The ruthless law gives the right to seize property if the owner is not able to explain the origin of the funds spent on its acquisition. Moreover, not only real estate can be subject to arrest, but also securities and other assets worth more than 50 pounds. In the very near future, processes may be initiated during which the accounts of Russian oligarchs will be arrested.
However, there is a loophole for the oligarchs and their families. The law covers Russians, but not British citizens of Russian origin. The oligarchs have very little time to choose with whom they are: with Putin or Elizabeth II. Based on the foregoing, one can expect new complaints from London that someone there is ashamed to be Russian.
- Sergey Marzhetsky
- https://www.japantimes.co.jp/
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