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Britain Seizes £780,000 from Blacklisted Russian Banker

Britain’s National Crime Agency cleared a final legal hurdle Monday to permanently seize £780,000 from a blacklisted Russian oligarch, marking the first time a U.K. authority has used proceeds-of-crime legislation to recover funds allegedly linked to sanctions evasion.

The NCA obtained freezing orders in May 2022 to restrain nine bank accounts connected to the oligarch, Petr Aven, through Stephen Gater, a director of several companies through which the dual Russian Latvian national manages his assets in Britain, including Ingliston House, his mansion in Surrey.

On Monday, Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London approved the NCA’s agreement with Gater to forfeit more than £783,000 held in those accounts, which also held proceeds from the sale of a Bentley Bentayga worth £160,000, a transaction that allegedly violated U.K. sanctions.

The NCA’s Combating Kleptocracy Cell led the financial investigation into Aven, who resigned from his leadership position at Alfa Bank, Russia’s largest commercial lender, weeks after the Kremlin-ordered, full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

Moneylaundering.com may update this coverage as more information becomes available.
Topics : Sanctions , Know Your Customer
Source: United Kingdom: National Crime Agency
Document Date: July 29, 2024