WorldECR | UK: NCA seizes £780,000 from Russians

In the first action of its kind in the UK, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has secured the seizure of sanctioned funds held in the UK by Russian oligarch Petr Aven.

The NCA said in a statement on July 29 that the 780,000 pounds frozen since 2022 were recovered due to sanctions against Avin, the former president of Russia’s largest commercial bank.

The NCA argued that although the funds were not held in Awen’s name, they were held for his benefit. The funds were initially frozen after the British government imposed sanctions on him for supporting Russia.

The NCA’s investigation revealed that the attempted transfer of these funds, as well as transactions carried out by Aven’s estate manager Stephen Gater after March 15, 2022, were in breach of sanctions. Notable breaches included the payment of wages to more than 20 Aven household staff and the sale of a £160,000 Bentley Bentayga car.

In 2022, the NCA obtained nine freezing orders for accounts associated with Aven, as well as two cash seizures. The NCA and Gater reached an agreement to confiscate £783,827.34, which was approved at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 20 July 2024.

A spokesman for the NCA’s Anti-Thieves team said: “The results announced today are significant and mark the end of a complex and lengthy investigation by the NCA’s Anti-Thieves team. It demonstrates the NCA’s commitment to enforcing the UK sanctions regime and recovering illegally held funds for the benefit of the public.”