Three “notorious thieves”, including a Ukrainian oligarch wanted in the United States, were sanctioned by the British government on Thursday in a bid to tackle dirty money flowing through Britain, officials said. did.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's puppets Dmytro Firtash, Angola's Isabel dos Santos, Latvia's Aivars Lembergs, and some of their friends, families, and fixers, are involved in global corruption scandals. The government announced that he had been subject to asset freezes and travel bans under preventive measures. Said.
“The golden age of money laundering is over,” British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement.
“These unscrupulous people are selfishly depriving their fellow countrymen of much-needed funds for education, healthcare and infrastructure in order to enrich themselves. We have pledged to fight the dirty money that gives them power, and these sanctions are the first step in realizing this ambition.”
Gary Cullman, director of Transparency International's U.S. office, told the Post that the new U.K. sanctions are a “helpful signal” that could trigger new sanctions in the U.S. and EU. .
“It can be very difficult to move money around the world without using US dollars,” Kalman said. “Having said that, the euro and [British] The pound is certainly an important currency, so coordinating between these three currencies will help make life difficult for sanctioned individuals. Now that the UK has introduced these new sanctions, the US should also consider doing so. ”
Firtash, who made his fortune in the gas trade largely thanks to his close ties to President Vladimir Putin, has tens of millions of dollars stashed in British real estate alone, according to a press release from the British Foreign Office. This was revealed in a press release. As FCDO.
Firtash is wanted in Chicago for his role in a bribery conspiracy. He is believed to be hiding in Austria to avoid extradition to the United States.
The UK also accused his wife Radha Firtash, who owns properties purchased with illicit funds, including the site of a former tube station known as Brompton Road, and the UK for “enabling and facilitating Mr Firtash's corruption”. Sanctions were also imposed on Denis Golubnenko, a fixer based in . This was announced by British officials.
Earlier this year, Ukraine indicted Firtash on charges of stealing $485 million from consumers in Ukraine's natural gas distribution system, according to reports.
In 2008, during the Great Recession, Furtash attempted to develop the former Drake Hotel site in New York. It is now home to 432 Park Avenue, once the tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere.
Dos Santos, known as Africa's richest woman, is the daughter of Angola's former president. She is suspected of embezzling at least $450 million. Her real estate holdings are in Lisbon, Monte Carlo, and Dubai, where she currently lives, among others.
The money she stole was “robbed”[d] “Angola has a wealth of resources and funding for much-needed development,” a British official said.
Dos Santos is also on Interpol's Red Notice list from November 2022. Last month, it lost a case in the Court of Appeal over a global asset freeze.
Britain also sanctioned her friend and business partner, Paula Oliveira, and her chief financial officer, Sarju Raikundaria, “both of whom believed that Ms. helped funnel national wealth,” the FCDO release said.
Lembergs, one of Latvia's richest men, “tried to hide the proceeds of corruption in mutual funds and other organizations,” including in the name of his daughter Riga Lemberga, who was also sanctioned. ' was sanctioned in the UK.
He was sanctioned by the United States in 2019. According to the FCDO, Lembergs was found guilty in a Riga court in 2021 on 19 charges, including bribery, forgery of documents, money laundering and abuse of office.
Combating money laundering in the United States is now understood to be a key element of U.S. national security, and this is one area where there is strong bipartisan support between Democrats and Republicans. said Kallman.
Cullman added that the past Trump administration was strong on sanctions, and that the president-elect's nominee for secretary of state, Marco Rubio, “understands the value of sanctions and is working with allies to use coordinated sanctions to improve the global economy.” “It's actually blocking the financial system,” he added. Bad actors. ”
New laws like the Corporate Transparency Act, which took effect last January, also allow the United States to expose where thieves like Mr. Firtash, Mr. dos Santos, and Mr. Lembergs secretly buy American real estate. may be useful.
Companies have until January 1, 2025 to register their beneficiaries. Cullman said about 800,000 companies currently register each week.
Anti-corruption activists hope to pass enabler legislation in the United States next year. The law is designed to stop American lawyers, accountants and other professionals from helping bad actors stash stolen cash inside and outside the United States.
