The government has imposed sanctions on Alisher Usmanov and Igor Shuvalov over their links to Vladamir Putin.
Usmanov had been a major investor in Everton Football Club, until the arrangement was suspended by the club this week. He previously had a 30% stake in Arsenal. Shuvalov owns two flats in Whitehall valued at £11.4m. Both men had already been sanctioned by the European Union. They will be subject to asset freezes and unable to travel to Britain.
Usmanov’s British assets are said to include a Regency-style mansion in Highgate, north London, bought for £48m in 2008, and Sutton Place, a Tudor mansion in Surrey once owned by Jean Paul Getty.
Britain has so far sanctioned 13 individuals. However, Roman Abramovich and other Russians with significant UK interests may not face sanctions for “weeks and months” because officials have struggled to link their finances to Putin.
Foreign secretary Liz Truss is pushing for emergency legislation to speed up the process of sanctioning Russian oligarchs.
