the times | Tuesday March 15 2022 2GM 9
News
Roman Abramovich was accused of
building his fortune through corrupt oil
company deals last night as sources
said that leading EU diplomats had
agreed to sanction him.
The Russian government was
cheated out of $2.7 billion during a deal
to buy the oil company Sibneft in the
1990s, say documents seen by the BBC.
Yuri Skuratov, Russia’s former chief
prosecutor, said he had investigated the
deal involving Abramovich and Boris
Berezovsky and their links to Boris
Yeltsin, who was president at the time.
He told Panorama: “Basically, it was a
fraudulent scheme, where those who
took part in the privatisation formed
one criminal group that allowed
Abramovich and Berezovsky to trick
the government and not pay the money
that this company was really worth.”
Skuratov was dismissed in 1999 after
images of him in bed with two
prostitutes were shown on a state-
controlled television station. The video
was broadcast hours after he appeared
on TV announcing that he had the
names of some “fairly well-known”
Russian officials who had illegally
transferred dirty money to Swiss bank
accounts.
The alleged law enforcement docu-
ment obtained by the BBC claim that
files on Abramovich were moved to the
Kremlin and an investigation by Skura-
tov was stopped. The document says:
“Skuratov was preparing a criminal
case for the confiscation of Sibneft on
the basis of the investigation of its priv-
atisation. The investigation was
stopped by President Yeltsin... Skura-
tov was dismissed from his office.”
Skuratov told the BBC: “This whole
thing was obviously political, because
in my investigations I came very closeMore Russians face action
as law broadens sanctions
Oliver Wright, Steven SwinfordBritain is ready to freeze the assets of
more than a hundred oligarchs and
Russians with links to the Putin regime
as a new law comes into effect making
it easier for the government to impose
sanctions.
Ministers have been criticised for
being slow to act after targeting only
about 20 individuals with links to Presi-
dent Putin and the Russian state. The
EU has sanctioned 50 Russian busi-
nessmen, military figures and even
journalists. Both have also sanctioned
more than 350 members of the Russian
parliament who voted to support the
invasion.
Ministers have pledged to go “faster
and harder” on those closest to Putin
after the passing of the economic crime
bill, which is expected to receive royal
assent today, as it removes the legal test
of “appropriateness” in deciding whom
ministers can sanction. The law will
also allow them to mirror the sanctions
imposed by western allies. It is likely to
mean that several oligarchs with signif-
icant links to the UK have their British
assets frozen having previously been
sanctioned by the EU.
The government is expected to an-nounce punitive tariffs on Russian
vodka, fur and goods worth up to £5 bil-
lion a year. This follows a co-ordinated
move by western allies at the World
Trade Organisation to strip Russia of its
“most favoured nation” status, which
limits the tariffs applied to imports.
Those likely to face sanctions include
Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven, oli-
garchs who have become deeply inte-
grated into British society. They made
$14 billion in 2013 from selling their
stake in the oil business TNK-BP to the
state-run giant Rosneft, and invested it
in a London-based business empire.
Their LetterOne investment com-
pany, from which they stood down after
being hit by EU sanctions, owns the
health food retailer Holland & Barrett.
as well as the Dia supermarket chain in
Spain.
Dmitry Mazepin, the owner and
chief executive of the mineral fertiliser
company Uralchem, could face sanc-
tions. Hehad been the owner of a lead-
ing British motorsport team, based at
Silverstone, until the week before
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Senior Russian officials and military
commanders — including Dmitry
Peskov, Putin’s spokesman — could
also face action.News
Finger pointed at
Abramovich over
$2.7bn oil fraud
David Brown to the family of Boris Yeltsin, including
via this investigation of the Sibneft
privatisation.”
In 2002 Abramovich formed a part-
nership with another firm to buy
Slavneft, a Russian oil producer. A
member of the delegation from a rival
Chinese bidder was kidnapped when
they arrived in Moscow for the auction
and was released after the company
declared its withdrawal, the document
claims. There is no suggestion that
Abramovich knew anything about the
kidnapping plot.
Abramovich was seen at Tel Aviv air-
port shortly before a jet linked to him
took off for Istanbul. Yair Lapid, Israel’s
foreign minister, had said: “Israel will
not be a route to bypass sanctions
imposed on Russia by the United States
and other western countries.”
Amid concerns that other sanc-
tioned oligarchs are hiding assets in
Israel, Lapid said that the foreign minis-
try was “co-ordinating the issue to-
gether with partners including the
Bank of Israel, the Finance Ministry,
the Economy Ministry, the Airports
Authority, the Energy Ministry, and
others”.
Abramovich and Berezovsky both
attended Putin’s 2000 inauguration
ball in Moscow. Berezovsky became an
opponent of Putin and was granted pol-
itical asylum in Britain. He was found
hanged at his mansion in Sunninghill,
Berkshire, in March 2013.
A coroner recorded an open verdict
after hearing Berezovsky feared
assassination and was at risk of
bankruptcy after a 2012 high court fight
with Abramovich over the ownership
of Sibneft.
Abramovich’s lawyer told the BBC
allegations of corruption in the
Slavneft and Sibneft deals were false,
and denied he was protected by Yeltsin.VUK VALCIC/ALAMYlarge painting of Cossacks on
horses, thought to be the work of
the 19th century Russian painter
Franz Roubaud, who was known for
his battle scenes and panoramics. Ithas an estimated value of about
£60,000.
The room is filled with sofas and
£4,500 art deco-style Linley tub
chairs.The video starts in the study, where a
there is a Gino Severini-style paintingA Greek marble bust can be seen in a
hallway leading to the drawing roomOn a plinth a sculpture thought to be
by the British artist Barbara HepworthA grand piano in a corner appears to
be a Bösendorfer worth over £60,On the ground floor below a balcony
there is a £50,000 Linley dining tableOn the stairs the camera settles on a
grouping of Russian icon artworksThere also appears to be a painting
of Cossacks by Franz RoubaudTwo glass chandeliers can be seen on
the tour, which ends in a home cinemaOleg Deripaska complained after protesters broke into his Belgravia mansion O