Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Ukraine: UK sanctions oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Igor Shuvalov

Ukraine: UK sanctions oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Igor Shuvalov

The UK has announced sanctions on two more Russian oligarchs - Alisher Usmanov and Igor Shuvalov following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Usmanov's company USM previously had sponsorship ties with Arsenal and - until this week - Everton.

Mr Shuvalov was formerly Russian President Vladimir Putin's deputy prime minister and is currently chairman of the management board of a Russian bank.

The BBC has contacted the two men for their response.

Under the UK government's new restrictions, their assets will be frozen and they will be banned from travelling to the UK.

British citizens and businesses will not be allowed to deal with them.

Boris Johnson said: "For as long as Putin continues his barbaric attack on innocent Ukrainians we will continue to exert every power we have to inflict maximum economic pain on Putin and his war machine."

And his Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: "We won't stop here - our aim is to cripple the Russian economy and starve Putin's war machine."

The government said the two men had "significant interests in the UK and close links to the Kremlin".

Mr Usmanov founded USM Holding company, an investment group that owns iron, steel and copper suppliers and the Megafon telecommunications company.

The company, in which Mr Usmanov holds a 49% stake, sponsored Everton's training ground and had a naming-rights option for Everton's new stadium, due to open in 2024.

However, on Wednesday, Everton suspended the company's sponsorship arrangements, saying the club was "shocked and saddened by the appalling events unfolding in Ukraine".

Mr Usmanov's business partner Farhad Moshiri - the owner and main investor at Everton - has since stepped down from his role as chairman of USM and announced that he had severed all business links with the Russian.

As part of the deal, the Megafon branding was added to two of the towers of the stadium, one of which can be seen here

The Megafon branding was quickly removed from the stadium in the run-up to Thursday's televised FA Cup match


At the club's FA cup match against Boreham Wood on Thursday evening, Everton's players walked out draped in Ukrainian flags, behind 22-year-old Ukrainian defender Vitaliy Mykolenko who has been made captain on just his fourth appearance for his new club.

Mr Usmanov's previous ties with Arsenal ended in 2018 when he sold his 30% stake. At the time he was the second largest shareholder in the north London club.

In addition to connections with Premier League clubs, the government said Mr Usmanov owned Beechwood House in Highgate, worth an estimated £48m, and the 16th century Sutton Place estate in Surrey.

Mr Shuvalov is less well-known in the UK but the Foreign Office said he owned "two luxury apartments in central London worth an estimated £11m".

The Foreign Office also said it had established an Oligarch Taskforce to co-ordinate work to sanction further oligarchs.

Earlier this week, the EU froze the assets of the Mr Usmanov, saying he was "a pro-Kremlin oligarch with particularly close ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin".

At the time, Mr Usmanov issued a statement calling the EU's decision "unfair" and adding that he would "use all legal means to protect my honour and reputation".

Mr Shuvalov, the other man to be sanctioned, has worked in the Russian government as first deputy minister and government chief of staff, as well as acting as an aide to President Putin.

Igor Shuvalov, seen here with President Putin, is one of 13 oligarchs to be sanctioned by the UK since the invasion of Ukraine


Since 2018 he has been the chairman of the management board of VEB, one of the Russian banks recently sanctioned by the government.

On Wednesday, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer had urged the prime minister to take action against Mr Shuvalov and accused the prime minister of being slow to target other individuals connected with the Putin government.

Government sources have told the BBC it could take weeks to put together sanctions against such people.

Labour, and some senior Conservative figures have said the UK should seize oligarchs' UK assets.

Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat, the chairman of the Commons foreign affairs committee, said: "We should be looking immediately to seize those assets linked to those who are profiting from Putin's war machine, holding it in trust and returning it to the Russian people as soon as possible."

Elsewhere, the US has announced fresh sanctions on Russian oligarchs including Mr Usmanov, Mr Shuvalov and Mr Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov.

Authorities in France and Germany have seized yachts owned by Mr Usmanov.

Mr Usmanov's yacht, Dilbar, is worth $600m


Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Dominic Raab says the government will look at ways to stop lawsuits being used by wealthy individuals to intimidate journalists and organisations covering their wealth and financial interests.

The government is expected to set out a number of options to alter the system, including procedural changes in courts and potential legislation.

Mr Raab told the Telegraph: "We will not have people close to Putin coming here to try and bankrupt people who shine a light on his excesses."

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
China Presses Netherlands to “properly” Resolve the Nexperia Seizure as Supply Chain Risks Grow
Merz Attacks Migrants, Sparks Uproar, and Refuses to Apologize: “Ask Your Daughters”
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
×