UK Foreign Secretary says Russian oligarchs should be ashamed - Roman Abramovich sanctioned in UK

In response to the Ukrainian invasion, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said oligarchs should ‘hang their heads in shame'.  Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea FC, has been sanctioned by the UK Government.

Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea FC, has been sanctioned by the UK Government.

Mr Abramovich's assets will be frozen, and he will be barred from dealing with UK individuals and businesses, and from traveling to the UK.

The assets of seven Russian oligarchs “closely associated with the Kremlin" will be seized and a travel ban will be applied, as announced by the UK Government in a press release.

Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea FC, is worth an estimated £9BN and also owns stakes in Evraz and Norilsk Nickel.

“There can be no safe havens for those who have supported Putin’s vicious assault on Ukraine,” said UK PM Boris Johnson.

“Today’s sanctions are the latest step in the UK’s unwavering support for the Ukrainian people,” Mr Johnson said.

The UK "will be ruthless in pursuing those who enable the killing of civilians, destruction of hospitals and illegal occupation of sovereign allies," he stated.

"Today’s sanctions show once again that oligarchs and kleptocrats have no place in our economy or society," said UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss. "With their close links to Putin they are complicit in his aggression."

“The blood of the Ukrainian people is on their hands. They should hang their heads in shame. Our support for Ukraine will not waver. We will not stop in this mission to ramp up the pressure on the Putin regime and choke off funds to his brutal war machine ” she continued.

The sale of Chelsea Football Club came as Mr Abramovich faced increasing scrutiny over his close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The UK Government has issued a licence allowing a number of football-related activities to continue at Chelsea, however today's sanctions are preventing its sale.

The football club can still play matches, but no new tickets can be sold and the club's merchandise store must close.

The UK has also sanctioned Abramovich's former business partner, Oleg Deripaska, a stakeholder in En+ Group, an energy and metals company.

On the sanction list there are also included: Igor Sechin (Chief Executive Rosneft), Andrey Kostin (Chairman of VTB Bank), Alexei Miller (CEO of Gazprom), Nikolai Tokarev (President of Transneft), Dmitry Lebedev (Director of Bank Rossiya).

By fLEXI tEAM