Oleg Deripaska has suggested the UK Government’s sanctioning of Russian oligarchs over Vladimir Putin’s ruthless invasion of Ukraine may face legal challenges.
The oil tycoon, 54, is believed to be the first Russian oligarch to signal that the crippling sanctions could lead to court action, or even police involvement, as he claimed that there was ‘not a single fact’ to support the measures.
Deripaska was among seven Russian oligarchs to be hit by brutal new UK sanctions, which were unveiled on Thursday, as the government continues to tighten ‘the vice’ around Putin’s cronies.
In a blistering tweet, he wrote: ‘Since there’s not a single fact in support of Boris’ cabinet’s fantasies it will be for the courts and the police to decide the future for all in this sanctions story.’
Oleg Deripaska (pictured) has signaled that the UK Government’s sanctioning of Russian oligarchs over Vladimir Putin’s ruthless invasion of Ukraine may face court action
In a blistering tweet, the billionaire claimed there was ‘not a single fact’ to support the sweeping sanctions against Russian oligarchs
Deripaska is a close ally of the Russian President and has been accused of aiding the Kremlin in foreign influence operations.
Earlier this week, Deripaska and his one time business partner Roman Abramovich were hit with an asset freeze and travel bans.
The government announced that owner of Chelsea FC Abramovich will be prohibited from transactions with UK individuals and businesses. The government could still grant him a licence to sell the club, but will need to be assured that he will not benefit financially and any proceeds would remain frozen.
Deripaska was hit with the same measures this week – as were Rosneft chief Igor Sechin and four more described as being in Putin’s ‘inner circle’.
The Foreign Office said the Economic Crime Bill coming into force next week ‘will allow UK Government to move further and faster than ever on sanctions’.
Boris Johnson said the government will keep ‘tightening the vice’ around Putin’s cronies following the Russian leader’s ‘vicious’ invasion of Ukraine, which has seen troops continue to advance towards the capital of Kyiv.
Deripaska (pictured) was among seven oligarchs to be hit with an asset freeze and travel bans under brutal new UK sanctions unveiled on Thursday
‘There can be no safe havens for those who have supported Putin’s vicious assault on Ukraine,’ he said.
‘Today’s sanctions are the latest step in the UK’s unwavering support for the Ukrainian people. We will be ruthless in pursuing those who enable the killing of civilians, destruction of hospitals and illegal occupation of sovereign allies.’
Since the sanctions were announced, MailOnline learned that estate agents Knight Frank have pulled out of trying to sell the £18million Surrey mansion owned by Deripaska.
The five-bedroom art deco Hamstone House was put on the market last month prior to the invasion of Ukraine.
Set in eight acres of manicured grounds, the five-bedroom home is in the exclusive St George’s Hill private gated community in Weybridge, Surrey.
Knight Frank were instructed to sell the property in January, but potential buyers will no longer be able to find any details on their website after the company took the decision to no longer market the property.
A source at the company said: ‘We have stepped away from the instruction.’
Deripaska owns the stunning home through Cyprus based Edenfield Investments Limited.
The government also announced that owner of Chelsea FC Roman Abramovich (pictured) will be prohibited from transactions with UK individuals and businesses under sanctions
Hamstone House includes a spa, sauna, gym, tennis court and swimming pool.
Once Russia’s richest man, Deripaska came to prominence in the UK when he entertained Labour grandee Lord Mandelson on his yacht in Corfu.
The tycoon quit as a director of Russian energy giant EN+ Group after being targeted by the sanctions. He owns a house in Belgrave Square and is a grandson by marriage to the late leader Boris Yeltsin.
Last year, he tore into the FBI and ‘utter stupidity’ of the American government in a lengthy statement, a day after homes linked to him in New York and Washington were raided by the agency.
A spokesman for Deripaska said the searches stemmed from sanctions imposed on him in 2018 and that the homes belonged to his relatives. But on Deripaska indicated both pieces of luxury real estate were ‘abandoned’.
Deripaska was born in Siberia in 1968 but raised by his grandparents in Krasnodar, after his mother left home to find work. He was drafted into the Red Army before graduating Moscow State University in 1993 with a degree in nuclear physics, just as Soviet Russia was collapsing.
His estimated peak fortune sat at £28billion and he boasted several multi-million properties and private jets, as well as the yacht where he entertained Peter Mandelson and George Osbourne.
Deripaska has acknowledged his business depends on goodwill in the Kremlin. However, in 2018, he was targeted with sanctions that crippled his wealth, over ‘malign’ Russian activity.
The US banned businesses and banks from having any dealings with Deripaska, and attempted to seize some of his assets.
American officials cited a string of his alleged criminal activities, including ‘threatening the lives of business rivals, illegally wiretapping a government official, and taking part in extortion and racketeering’, as well as links to organised crime.
They also claimed Putin forced him to launder money by investing $800million in a sports complex for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics.
Now, Deripaska’s fortune sits at $2.9billion, just a tenth of its peak and could collapse further following sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Deripaska is a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin who’s been accused of helping the Kremlin conduct foreign influence operations.
A 1,000-page Senate Intelligence Committee report released in 2020 also links him to former Trump 2016 campaign chair Paul Manafort and ex-MI6 spy Christopher Steele.
Deripaska and other members of Putin’s inner circle as well as 12 Russian businesses connected to them were blacklisted by the Treasury Department in 2018 over alleged international crimes.
However, Donald Trump lifted sanctions on three companies connected to him despite objections from Congressional Democrats.
According to the government, Deripaska still has stakes in En+ Group, a major extractives and energy company which owns UC Rusal, one of the world’s major aluminum producers. He also has a multi-million pound property portfolio in the UK.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk