The UK has sanctioned seven Russian oligarchs, freezing their assets as international leaders continue to ramp up the pressure against President Vladimir Putin's unprovoked war on Ukraine.
The affected individuals include Roman Abramovich, a pro-Kremlin former politician, and now Chelsea DC owner. He and the other oligarchs are also under a travel ban under sanctions published on Thursday after ministers came to an agreement to put pressure on high-profile Russians outside the mainland.
UK Sanctions on Russian Oligarchs
The new sanctions allege that Abramovich had a close relationship with Putin for several decades, a claim that the football club owner has repeatedly denied. The second oligarch is industrialist Oleg Deripaska, who is worth roughly $2.6 billion and is said to have close ties with the British political establishment.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that the government focused on the seven oligarchs in an attempt to choke off Russia's funding of its brutal attack on Ukraine. The official added that all of the affected individuals had some form of relationship with Putin and are complicit in his aggression, as per Metro.
The situation comes as this month, Abramovich announced plans to sell Chelsea, arguing that the decision was in the best interest of the Club, the fans, the employees, as well as the Club's sponsors and partners. The remarks came after he said that he gave "stewardship" of the club over to trustees of the club's charitable foundation.
The new sanctions will also prohibit the individuals from conducting transactions with UK individuals and businesses. The UK government said that Chelsea FC will be given a special license to continue its operations and "fulfill its fixtures and carry out football business," which includes the payments of players and club staff.
According to CNN, authorities said that certain actions of the club will not be permitted, including buying and selling new players and selling tickets for games beyond those already sold to fans. People who currently hold existing season tickets will be allowed to attend matches, including fans who bought tickets prior to Thursday.
Relationship With Putin
Furthermore, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government has been keen on fighting against the war by targeting Russian elites and Putin's allies. Officials are pushing through legislation that will make it much more difficult for rich individuals to keep their fortune hidden in London.
Since the beginning of the Russian war against Ukraine, the UK has targeted 18 Russian oligarchs with sanctions. The number of affected individuals is fewer than those targeted by the United States or European Union. However, it is still a dramatic change from the region's previous government stance.
The other individuals included in the latest sanctions were Rosneft chief executive Igor Sechin, Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller, the president of state owned-pipeline company Transneft, Nikolai Tokarev, VTB Bank Chairman Andrey Kostin, and Bank Rossiya Chairman Dmitri Lebedev.
The seven Russian oligarchs have an estimated net worth total of roughly $19.8 billion, said the British government. On top of the UK sanctions, Abramovich is the only oligarch that has also been sanctioned by the United States, the Washington Post reported.
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