The wealth manager of Russian billionaire oligarch Pyotr Aven has agreed to the confiscation of more than £750,000 to end a nearly two-year investigation by British police into sanctions evasion. This was reported by Bloomberg, according to UNN.
Thousands of pounds in cash found in Aven's mansion outside London were also confiscated under the “proceeds of crime” legislation,
Details
The NCA accused Aven of being “a pro-Kremlin oligarch who acquired his wealth in the last days of the Soviet regime.
It is noted that the money kept in bank accounts with HSBC Holdings Plc and Monzo Bank Ltd. was confiscated after the Aven's wife and his estate manager recognized that the funds “were either property subject to confiscation or were intended for use in illegal activities”.
It is noted that Aven himself does not have bank accounts in the UK, but he was suspected of using the accounts of his wife and a property management firm as a personal “piggy bank” to finance his lifestyle.
The investigation itself focused on about 3.7 million pounds sent to the UK from an Austrian trust a few hours before European sanctions were imposed on Aven.
Earlier, the NCA sought to confiscate £1.2 million from Aven.
Recall
In April of this year, an EU court lifted sanctions against Russian oligarchs Petr Aven and Mikhail Fridman, satisfying their lawsuit and lifting restrictive measures imposed on them after the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.