Former Russian minister jailed for UK sanctions breaches
A former governor appointed by Russian president Vladimir Putin in illegally annexed Crimea has been sentenced to 40 months' imprisonment for circumventing sanctions, in the first case of its kind.
Dmitrii Ovsiannikov, once the governor of Sevastopol, was convicted of having tens of thousands of pounds transferred into a newly opened Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) account by his wife, when he knew he was prohibited from doing so.
Ovsiannikov had also served as the Russian Federation's deputy minister for industry and trade before he was dismissed and expelled from the ruling United Russia party in 2020.
Under the original asset freeze Ovsiannikov was not allowed to spend money even on basic necessities, and others were not permitted to assist him to do so.
Ovsiannikov was found guilty at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday of six out of seven counts of circumventing sanctions between February 2023 and January 2024.
He was sentenced at the same court on Friday to 40 months' imprisonment for each count to be served concurrently.
The total amount of time Ovsiannikov will serve was reduced by the 217 days he has spent on curfew, and he will spend up to half of his sentence in custody before he is released on licence.
His brother Alexei Owsjanikow, 47, was sentenced to 15 months in prison suspended for 15 months after being convicted of two counts of circumventing sanctions by paying school fees of £41,027 for his sibling's children.
The case is the first prosecution in the UK regarding a breach of sanctions under the Russia Regulations 2019.
Sentencing the two men, Mrs Justice Cockerill said that the 'weight given' to the fact that the Russia-Ukraine war is ongoing 'had to be fairly limited'.
The maximum sentence for breaching the Russia Regulations 2019 is seven years' imprisonment.
Ovsiannikov was wearing a blue jumper and Owsjanikow a light-coloured casual jacket and both brothers brought packed bags into the dock.
The jury failed to reach a verdict on the charge that Ovsiannikov deliberately avoided sanctions by opening the Halifax account.
His wife Ekaterina Ovsiannikova, who was in the public gallery on Friday, has been cleared of four counts of circumventing sanctions by assisting with payments totalling £76,000 to her husband in February 2023.
Owsjanikow was cleared of a further three counts of breaching sanctions including buying a Mercedes-Benz worth £54,500 and arranging car insurance for Ovsiannikov.
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