UK adds Abramovich, Sechin, Lebedev to Russian sanctions list (list of assets)

Britain said on Thursday it had imposed asset freezes on seven Russian businessmen including Roman Abramovich, Igor Sechin, Oleg Deripaska and Dmitri Lebedev after they were added to the country’s sanctions list.

“There can be no safe havens for those who have supported Putin’s vicious assault on Ukraine,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.

Abramovich is the owner of Chelsea soccer club, Deripaska has stakes in En+ Group, Sechin is the Chief Executive of Rosneft and Lebedev is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bank Rossiya.

The government said that it would enable soccer club Chelsea to continue playing matches after it imposed sanctions on its owner, Roman Abramovich, halting his plan to sell the English Premier League side.

Abramovich had put the club up for sale, but Britain’s asset freeze and sanctions on him bar that process under the terms of the licence granted to the club.

Nadine Dorries, Britain’s minister for sport, said the government had issued a special licence to enable Chelsea to play fixtures, pay staff and enable ticket holders to attend matches, because it did not want to harm the reigning European and world soccer champions.

“I know this brings some uncertainty, but the government will work with the league and clubs to keep football being played while ensuring sanctions hit those intended,” she said on Twitter. “Football clubs are cultural assets and the bedrock of our communities. We’re committed to protecting them.”

The government said the licence would be kept under review.

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Below is the government’s summary of those sanctioned and their assets:

1. Roman Abramovich

“Roman Abramovich has stakes in steel giant Evraz, Norilsk Nickel and owns Chelsea FC. He sold a 73% stake in Russian oil firm Sibneft to state-owned gas titan Gazprom for 9.87 billion pounds in 2005.

“His net worth is an estimated 9.4 billion pounds. He is one of the few oligarchs from the 1990s to maintain prominence under Putin.”

“None of our allies have yet sanctioned Abramovich.”

2. Oleg Deripaska

“Oleg Deripaska has stakes in En+ Group, a major extractives and energy company which owns UC Rusal, one of the world’s major aluminium producers. He has a multi-million pound property portfolio in the UK.

“His net worth is an estimated 2 billion pounds. The U.S. designated Deripaska in 2018.”

3. Igor Sechin

“Igor Sechin is the chief executive of Rosneft, a Russian state oil company and particularly close and influential ally of Putin. Sechin has been sanctioned by the U.S. and EU.”

4. Andrey Kostin

“Andrey Kostin is Chairman of VTB bank, the second largest bank in Russia. VTB Bank was designated by the UK on 24 February 2022. Kostin is a close associate of Putin, and has long supported Kremlin objectives through VTB Bank.

“His net worth is an estimated 379 million pounds. Kostin has been sanctioned by the U.S. and EU.”

5. Alexei Miller

“Alexei Miller is CEO of energy company Gazprom, making him one of the most important executives supporting the Russian government. Miller served under Putin in the 1990s when Putin was deputy mayor in St Petersburg. Miller has been sanctioned by the U.S..”

6. Nikolai Tokarev

“Nikolai Tokarev is president of the Russia state-owned pipeline company Transneft. He first met Putin when both served as KGB officers in Dresden in East Germany in the 1980s. They have remained closely associated ever since. Tokarev has been sanctioned by the U.S. and EU.”

7. Dmitri Lebedev

“Dmitri Lebedev is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bank Rossiya. The UK designated Bank Rossiya, widely considered to be the Kremlin’s private bank, on 22 February 2022. Lebedev was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2016.”