Former Russian minister jailed for breaching UK sanctions
A former Kremlin minister has become the first person to be convicted and jailed for breaching Britain's sanctions on Russia.
Dmitrii Ovsiannikov, who was Vladimir Putin's deputy minister for industry and trade between 2015 and 2016, was sentenced to nearly three and a half years in prison after his wife transferred £76,000 into a British bank account when he knew he was prohibited from doing so.
The 48-year-old also served as the governor of Sevastopol, in Russian-occupied Crimea, between 2017 and 2019, before his expulsion from Russia's ruling party in 2020. His assets were frozen by the EU and the UK in November 2017.
He resigned from his position as governor in July 2019 and later travelled to Turkey from Russia, where he applied for a British passport. This was granted in January 2023 because his father was born in the UK.
Alexei Owsjanikow, 47, Ovsiannikov's brother, was spared jail after being convicted of two counts of circumventing sanctions by paying school fees of £41,027 for Ovsiannikov's children.
He was sentenced to 15 months in prison, suspended for 15 months, and was previously cleared of a further three counts of breaching sanctions including buying a Mercedes-Benz worth £54,500 and arranging car insurance for Ovsiannikov.
Ovsiannikov's wife Ekaterina, who watched the hearing from the public gallery, was previously cleared of four counts of circumventing sanctions by assisting with payments totalling £76,000 to her husband in February 2023.
The brothers brought packed bags into the dock in case of a custodial sentence.
The jury at Southwark Crown Court failed to reach a verdict on the charge that Ovsiannikov deliberately avoided sanctions by opening the Halifax account.
Julius Capon, of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: 'The sanctions regime was introduced against key individuals in an attempt to encourage Russia to cease military actions in foreign countries because it was hoped those with power will be hampered in doing their normal international business dealings.
'Dmitrii Ovsyannikov was a high-profile official who was appointed by President Vladimir Putin as the governor of Sevastopol after Crimea was illegally annexed by Russia. He knew he had been on the UK sanctions list since 2017, but choose to ignore this.
'Another member of his family sought deliberately to breach the sanctions to live their own lavish lifestyle and show complete disregard for the law. We hope this send a clear message that the CPS and National Crime Agency investigators will work closely together to robustly seek the convictions of sanction busters.
'We will start proceeds of crime proceedings to get back illegally obtained cash and assets.'
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Elon will lose fight with Trump, Musk's father tells Russia
Credit: Tsargrad TV Elon Musk will lose his fight with Donald Trump and made a 'mistake' by challenging him, his father has said. Speaking at a political conference in Moscow, Errol Musk claimed his billionaire son was suffering 'PTSD from the White House' and blamed his row with the US president on 'stress'. 'Trump will prevail – he's the president, he was elected as the president. So, you know, Elon made a mistake, I think. But he is tired, he is stressed,' he told Russian media. Last week, Elon Musk and Mr Trump traded insults after the Tesla chief executive denounced the president's sweeping new tax and spending Bill as 'a disgusting abomination'. He also called for the president's impeachment and claimed the Republican was 'in the Epstein files' – US government intelligence documents on Jeffrey Epstein, the late paedophile financier. In response, Mr Trump threatened to cancel US government contracts with Mr Musk's companies, which include SpaceX. Errol Musk told Izvestia, a Russian daily newspaper: 'You know they have been under a lot of stress for five months – you know – give them a break. 'They are very tired and stressed, so you can expect something like this.' Despite the pair's war of words, Mr Musk said he still believed his son's relationship with the president could be mended, describing the row as 'just a small thing' that would 'be over tomorrow'. He made the comments during an appearance at Future Forum 2050, a conference attended by Kremlin heavyweights and led by Alexander Dugin, a Russian ultra-nationalist philosopher often described as Vladimir Putin's 'brain'. Errol Musk was also pictured sitting next to Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister. At one point he praised Putin as a 'very stable and pleasant man' and blamed Western media for projecting 'nonsense' about Russia. It came as Stephen Bannon, Mr Trump's former chief strategist, claimed that in April Elon Musk had a physical altercation with Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, down the corridor from the Oval Office. Mr Bannon said: 'President Trump heard about it and said: 'This is too much,'' according to The Washington Post. A source told the newspaper that concerns were also raised over Mr Musk's alleged drug use. Mr Musk, the world's richest man, helped bankroll Mr Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. He was then hired to head the new Department of Government Efficiency, controversially tasked with downsizing the federal workforce and slashing spending. The tech entrepreneur stepped back from the role late last month, ending a turbulent 130-day stint in the administration. On Saturday, the US president said his relationship with Mr Musk was over, and warned there would be 'serious consequences' if Mr Musk switched his allegiance to the Democrats and funded rival candidates. Credit: Reuters Delighting in the row, Russian MPs have offered political asylum to the South African-born businessman. Last week, Dmitry Novikov, the deputy chairman of the state Duma committee on international affairs, said Moscow would welcome him to the country 'if he needs it'. Senior Putin allies have also mockingly offered to help mediate between the two men. 'We are ready to facilitate the conclusion of a peace deal between D and E for a reasonable fee and to accept Starlink shares as payment. Don't fight, guys!' said Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president, referring to Mr Musk's satellite internet network. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Vantage Data Centers Completes Industry's First Euro-Based Data Center Asset-Backed Securitization (ABS) with €640M Transaction
Incremental green financing will drive continued, sustainable developments across the refinanced portfolio DENVER & LUXEMBOURG, June 09, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vantage Data Centers, a leading global provider of hyperscale data center campuses, today announced it has raised €640 million in securitized term notes, marking the first-ever euro-based securitization of data center assets in Continental Europe. The transaction includes an additional €80 million in unfunded Variable Funding Notes. The Class A-2 Notes are rated A-, and the Class B Notes are rated BBB- by Standard & Poor's and Scope Ratings. This transaction follows Vantage's success last year with the first-ever EMEA data center ABS completed in British pound sterling. The notes will be used to refinance four data centers in Germany, two in Offenbach, Frankfurt, and two in Berlin, all of which are fully leased to hyperscale customers. The refinancing is part of Vantage's wider efforts to further expand its presence in the EMEA region and accelerate time to market to meet mounting demand for AI and cloud capacity. Surplus funds will be allocated toward capital expenditures and broader corporate initiatives. The notes have an anticipated five-year repayment date. "The issuance of the first euro-denominated ABS in the data center sector marks a significant milestone in digital infrastructure financing. Having previously issued the first data center ABS in both North America and EMEA (sterling-denominated), Vantage continues to showcase our innovative approach to capital markets and our ability to unlock new funding vehicles to fuel our global expansion," said Rich Cosgray, senior vice president, global capital markets for Vantage Data Centers. Vantage was represented by Clifford Chance LLP, and the transaction was led by Barclays and Deutsche Bank as active Joint Lead Managers. The transaction was supported by ING and Natixis as Joint Lead Managers and ABN Amro, Banco De Sabadell, SMBC and Societe Generale as Co-Managers. Barclays acted as Sole Structuring Advisor and Sole Green Structuring Advisor, and the transaction achieved a Green Bond designation via a Second-Party Opinion (SPO) from Morningstar Sustainalytics. The funds raised will contribute to advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and will facilitate the innovation of next-generation sustainable solutions aimed at reducing Vantage's environmental impact. For more information, please refer to the company's Green Bond Framework. Over the last 12 months, Vantage has raised €2.2 billion in new debt financing for its EMEA platform. For more information about Vantage's growing EMEA footprint, please visit: About Vantage Data Centers Vantage Data Centers powers, cools, protects and connects the technology of the world's well-known hyperscalers, cloud providers and large enterprises. Developing and operating across five continents in North America, EMEA and Asia Pacific, Vantage has evolved data center design in innovative ways to deliver dramatic gains in reliability, efficiency and sustainability in flexible environments that can scale as quickly as the market demands. For more information, visit Nothing in this press release constitutes an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the notes in any jurisdiction, and there shall not be any sale of the notes in any state or jurisdiction in which the offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. View source version on Contacts Press Contacts Mark FreemanVantage Data Centersmfreeman@ +1-202-680-4243 Robin BectelREQ for Vantage Data Centersvdc@ +1-202-936-6335 Nigel ParkerFulfil Communications for Vantage Data Centers, EMEAnigelp@ +44-(0)-7778-872-457
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Train service between Moscow and North Korea's Pyongyang to resume this month, says Russia
(Reuters) -Russia and North Korea plan to restart a direct passenger train service between Moscow and the North Korean capital Pyongyang this month for the first time since 2020, Russia's state-owned rail monopoly said on Monday. Russian Railways said it had agreed with North Korea's railways ministry to resume a twice-monthly service between the two capitals on June 17, a journey it said took eight days and which, at over 10,000 km (6,213 miles), was the longest direct rail journey in the world. Another service between Pyongyang and Khabarovsk, a Russian city close to China's northeastern border, will restart two days later. The services will be operated by Korean State Railway, the state operator, and in the case of the Moscow-Pyongyang route will see a North Korean passenger railcar hitched to the regular Moscow-Vladivostok service and then re-attached to another train. Passenger rail traffic between Russia and North Korea was suspended in February 2020 at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Moscow and Pyongyang have since ratcheted up cooperation, including in the military sphere since President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty last year. North Korea confirmed in late April that it had sent more than 10,000 troops and weapons to Russia to assist in its war in Ukraine, aid which proved crucial for Moscow in recapturing Russia's western Kursk region from Ukraine. The two countries already operate a passenger rail service between Vladivostok in Russia's Far East and Rason, a North Korean port city. The nations are also linked by freight rail networks, although Russia does not disclose the size of the cargo traffic.
