Britain has tolerated the presence of Russian “kleptocrats” in its football industry for too long, culture secretary Nadine Dorries has told MPs.
Her comments came in response to calls for sanctions on Chelsea’s Russian owner Roman Abramovich and Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov, whose financial partnerships with Everton were suspended on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Downing Street said that more measures against Russian individuals and entities can be expected within “the coming days and weeks” in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson said that sanctions legislation was being kept “under constant review”, after Whitehall insiders complained that the legal requirement to establish “reasonable grounds” for action against individuals was delaying action.
The spokesperson said officials were investigating whether the process can be accelerated, but said he “did not recognise” reports that it could take months for the government to decide whether any measures could be taken in the cases of oligarchs like Abramovich.
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Boris Johnson is coming under increasing pressure to move against the billions of pounds worth of Russian assets and property in the UK, after an EU crackdown on the oligarchs saw German authorities seize a ￡500m superyacht owned by Usmanov.
European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans suggested London was lagging behind Brussels, telling the BBC: “I don’t hesitate to say this, the UK is now following our lead. And I’m sure they will continue to follow the lead because the pressure of the public opinion in the UK is very clear about this.”
Sir Keir Starmer used the cover of parliamentary privilege on Wednesday to call for sanctions on Abramovich and Igor Shuvalov, a former Russian deputy prime minister, who he said owned two London flats worth ￡11m.
And Labour MP Chris Bryant today told the Commons: "Some of us are anxious about why we are not going further on the sanctioning of individuals.
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“It’s a mystery to me why Roman Abramovich has not yet been sanctioned. The government itself knows that he’s been engaged in illicit activity and he’s a person for concern for the government, which is why they’ve not been encouraging him to come to the UK.
“I don’t know why Alisher Usmanov has not yet been sanctioned. He’s been sanctioned by the EU, but not by us. He owns Sutton Place. I don’t know why we haven’t seized that asset.
“I don’t know why the UK has not seized a single yacht, or a flat, or a property of any other kind while other countries in Europe are able to do that."
Mr Bryant called on Ms Dorries to condemn former England football captain John Terry for posting a picture of himself with Abramovich on social media earlier today.
Ms Dorries replied: "I know that the Foreign Office are working on sanctions.
“But in football, I agree with him, we have tolerated the investment of Russian kleptocrats for far too long.”
Ms Dorries - wearing Ukrainian blue-and-yellow - said the UK had reached “a turning point” on the issue, adding: “We need make sure football clubs remain viable - that is an important point.
“He knows I’m limited in what I’m able to do in my department. I cannot mention names and I hope we will see the Foreign Office come forward with the sanctions.”
Following Mr Abramovich’s announcement on Wednesday that he was putting Chelsea up for sale, Mr Johnson’s spokesperson said he was unable to confirm the club was being sold, as the test applied by the Premier League on new owners and directors has not yet been triggered.
UK officials yesterday confirmed that they were aware of suggestions that wealthy Russians are selling assets and moving cash overseas in expectation of being including in future sanctions lists.
Sources have suggested that the process of drawing up lists is being slowed by the legislation introduced following Brexit to allow the UK to operate a sanctions regime separate from the EU.
Amendments accepted by the government require sanctions to be applied “in a proportionate manner” and gave stronger remedial measures for those targeted. This has left a 100-strong team working on sanctions in Whitehall with the task of providing a watertight legal case in relation to each individual affected, in order to protect the government against challenge in the courts.
Mr Johnson’s promise to sanction members of the Duma lower house of Russia’s parliament who back military action in Ukraine is thought likely to take some time to implement because of the labour-intensive task of making cases against all 351, while the EU was able to take the step immediately.
The PM’s spokesman said: “Certainly, when it comes to individuals, it is the case that we need to do a preparatory work and requisite work to make sure that is legally sound before introduction, as I think people would expect.
“We will keep that under review and if there are ways to further speed it up, then we will.”
But he said that the government was putting its most intense focus on sanctions against institutions such as banks and defence companies, which it judges will have more impact than high-profile measures against well-known individuals.
“Obviously what is important is what puts the most pressure on Putin’s regime,” said the spokesperson.
This map shows the areas held by Russian forces in Ukraine
(Press Association Images)
“We do what exerts the greatest pressure. Whilst it’s an important message to sanction oligarchs and seize assets, what is funding the Russian war machine are things like banks – some of which we know are largely set up to fund the military.
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“By sanctioning those, that’s where we think we can have the biggest impact.”
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