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Britain has imposed sanctions on three people, including Africa’s former richest woman, as the Labor government stepped up efforts to crack down on money laundering through Britain’s financial system.
The moves have affected Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of Angola’s former president, and exiled Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Furtash, who is accused of embezzling money from the country’s gas supply, as well as Ivars Lembergs, one of Latvia’s richest men. Who was sent to jail last year. On bribery by a Riga court
Foreign Secretary David Lemmy said the sanctions were “the first step in delivering [an] A desire to fight “kleptocrats and the dirty money that empowers them”. He added: “The tide is turning. The golden age of money laundering is over.
The designation was made under a UK regulation aimed at combating global corruption, passed in 2021, which allows sanctions to be imposed on people directly or indirectly involved in bribery or misappropriation of property. . It has now been used against 50 people.
The Foreign Office said Thursday’s sanctions “mark a step change in how this government is using its sanctions powers to make the UK a more hostile environment for corrupt actors to operate” and wealth. By also targeting those who help move assets into the UK.
UK sanctions on Firtash will give a boost to Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government, which is investigating alleged corruption in the distribution of gas against the former partner of Russia’s Gazprom in Ukraine.
Firtash has been in exile in Austria for a decade from Ukraine, where he is also fighting US extradition in a separate corruption case.
The Foreign Office said he had “concealed tens of millions of pounds in ill-gotten gains in the UK property market alone”, including the site of the former Brompton Road tube station, which his wife owns, which is also banned. is
Lammy, who represents Tottenham, said: “As an MP for London, this is personal for me. For too long, previous governments have turned a blind eye to the flow of illicit funds through our capital. London House Kleptocrats do not have bitcoins.
Dos Santos, who once claimed to be Africa’s first female billionaire, “systematically abused her positions in state-owned companies” to loot Angola’s resources during her father’s 38-year reign, Britain He said that assets have been frozen and travel ban has been imposed on him. .
She became head of Angola’s state-owned oil company during her father’s reign after consolidating business interests across the economy. His downfall began shortly after a new president took office in 2017, and since 2020 he has faced lawsuits or criminal investigations in several countries.
Dos Santos is already losing a battle in the Angolan courts to overturn an English court order freezing his assets in a dispute with Unitel, Angola’s biggest telecoms group. The state and Unital have accused him of robbing the group of debts.
Firtash and dos Santos did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Lembergs could not be reached for comment. All have previously denied any wrongdoing.
