Great Britain government said on Friday he could seize an exclusive London apartment bought for cash by a woman linked to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, under new sanctions regime coming into force force next week.
The Economic Crimes Bill – which is being enacted after theinvasion of Ukraine by Russia – will lower the bar for the government slap “unexplained wealth orders” on people with no discernable valuable income.
the government said those could include Polina Kovaleva, 26, the daughter of Svetlana Polyakova, who would be Lavrov’s longtime mistress.
Along with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Lavrov was personally sanctioned by Britain.
Opposition Labor member of Parliament Chris Bryant declared Kovaleva and Polyakova should to be added to the list.
The UK Land Registry database lists Kovaleva as the owner of a 4.4 apartment millions pounds (5.75 millions of dollars) in London plush area of Kensington, bought mortgage free in 2016.
The apartment is not far from the London mansion of Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich, whose UK assets were frozen over his ties to Putin.
Maria Pevchikh, an investigator for jailed dissident Alexei Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation said Kovaleva’s ‘sole source of money is she unemployed mother who happens to be Lavrov’s informal wife.”
“This is the example of the manual of unexplained wealth. the property can be seized legally now,” Pevchikh tweeted.
Speaking to LBC radio, technology minister Chris Philp said that the new the bill would strengthen government investigators’ ability impose orders requiring that asset owners explain source of their money.
“So people who show up in London, a little like the case you mentioned – the purchase of 4 millions pounds sterling property with apparently no legitimate way to do it – these unexplained wealth orders are designed to obtain behind this.”
Then, said Philp, the government could “potentially confiscate assets which have been acquired like expensive property where there is no good explanation for where money comes from where.”
Philip also defended the pace of the governmentaction thursday against Abramovich, after Labor and some ruling Conservative Party lawmakers party had called for sanctions much earlier against the owner of Chelsea.
“These Russian oligarchs have very expensive lawyers. They are very contentious,” said the minister noted.
“It was very important to do sure it has been done in a way which was completely legally watertight and legally defensible.”
