UK cracks down on dirty money with fresh sanctions

Three infamous kleptocrats and their associates have been sanctioned by the UK today for stealing their countries' wealth for personal gain.  

A woman once dubbed ‘Africa's richest woman', who embezzled at least £350 million, and a corrupt oligarch, who extracted hundreds of millions of pounds from the Ukrainian economy, are among those subject to new travel bans and asset freezes by the Foreign Secretary. 

Today's announcement marks the start of a new campaign by the Foreign Secretary to clamp down on corruption and illicit finance.  

The Foreign Secretary will work closely with his Cabinet counterparts, including the Home Secretary and Chancellor, to deliver an ambitious government-wide agenda to tackle the devastating impacts of corruption and illicit finance, both at home and overseas.   

The individuals sanctioned today are: 

• Dmitry Firtash, an infamous oligarch who has extracted hundreds of millions of pounds from Ukraine through corruption and his control of gas distribution and has hidden tens of millions of pounds of ill-gotten gains in the UK property market alone. The UK has also sanctioned his wife, Lada Firtash, who has profited from his corruption and holds UK assets on his behalf, including the site of the old Brompton Road tube station, and Denis Gorbunenko, a UK-based financial ‘fixer' who enabled and facilitated Firtash's corruption.  

• Isabel Dos Santos, the daughter of Angola's former president who systematically abused her positions at state-run companies to embezzle at least £350 million, depriving Angola of resources and funding for much-needed development. Dos Santos has been subject to an Interpol Red Notice since November 2022 and just last month lost a case at the Court of Appeal regarding her worldwide asset freeze. Also sanctioned today are her friend and business partner Paula Oliveira, and her Chief Financial Officer Sarju Raikundalia, both of whom helped Dos Santos funnel Angola's national wealth for her own benefit.

• Aivars Lembergs, one of Latvia's richest people, who abused his political position to commit bribery and launder money. Lembergs has attempted to hide the proceeds of his corruption in investment trusts and other corporate structures, including in the name of his daughter, Liga Lemberga – also sanctioned today. In 2021, Lembergs was found guilty of 19 charges including extorting bribes, forgery of documents, money laundering, and improper use of office in a court in Riga.

By targeting both the perpetrators of serious corruption and their enablers, particularly where illicit wealth is hidden in the UK, these designations 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 in.

Tackling corruption and illicit finance is vital to protect the UK public from organised criminals, safeguard our democracy from malign influence, and support sustainable economic growth.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said:  

These unscrupulous individuals selfishly deprive their fellow citizens of much-needed funding for education, healthcare and infrastructure - for their own enrichment.  

I committed to taking on kleptocrats and the dirty money that empowers them when I became Foreign Secretary and these sanctions mark the first step in delivering this ambition. The tide is turning. The golden age of money laundering is over. 

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said:  

Corruption harms societies, undermines security, and lines the pockets of criminals in the UK and across the globe.  

That's why this government is committed to working with partners at home and abroad to prevent these criminal practices and pursue those who benefit from the flow of dirty money.   

This action signals a new chapter in our efforts to tackle the scourge of corruption wherever it occurs.

Today's sanctions demonstrate the importance of working in partnership with other countries to tackle serious corruption and support their efforts to address the devastating impacts of corruption and illicit finance.   

They also complement broader FCDO-funded work by the National Crime Agency (NCA) hosted International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre (IACCC), a multi-national, multi-agency law enforcement unit that provides specialist law enforcement support for investigations into corruption and the misappropriation of a country's assets.  

The IACCC is currently assisting investigations in 42 countries. In Angola alone, the IACCC has supported with the identification and freezing of hundreds of millions of pounds worth of the proceeds of crime.  

Across the world, the IACCC has helped identify £1.45 billion in hidden assets, of which £631 million has been frozen by court orders, and enabled 49 arrests of politically exposed persons or corrupt actors.    

Background  

• Today's designations are made under the UK's Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions Regulations 2021.

• The FCDO also funds the NCA's International Corruption Unit, which investigates international bribery, corruption and related money-laundering offences connected to the UK. For every £1 invested in the ICU, £21 of stolen assets have been frozen.

• The NCA's Combating Kleptocracy Cell also investigates corrupt elites, high-level money laundering, and sanctions evasion.

Definitions:  

• Asset freeze: an asset freeze prevents any UK citizen, or any business in the UK, from dealing with any funds or economic resources which are owned, held or controlled by the designated person. It also prevents funds or economic resources being provided to or for the benefit of the designated person. UK financial sanctions apply to all persons within the territory and territorial sea of the UK and to all UK persons, wherever they are in the world.

• Travel ban: a travel ban means that the designated person must be refused leave to enter or to remain in the United Kingdom, providing the individual is an excluded person under section 8B of the Immigration Act 1971.