Former Russian minister convicted in Britain for violating British sanctions
LONDON (AP) – Former Russian government minister on Wednesday became the first person to be convicted in the UK, who imposed sanctions after illegally annexing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
Prosecutors said Dmitrii Ovsiannikov was appointed Sevastopol of Crimea by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who illegally obtained tens of thousands of pounds from his wife using a British bank account in 2016 and accepted gifts and payments from his brother.
Ovsiannikov, who also served as deputy minister of industry and trade, was a key politician in the 2017 EU sanctions as they threatened Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence, prosecutors said. Sanctions were adopted in the UK in 2019 as it leaves the EU
“He knew he had been on the UK sanctions list since 2017, but chose to ignore that,” said Julius Capon of the Crown Prosecution Service. “Another member of his family deliberately violated sanctions to live his own luxurious lifestyle and completely ignore the law.”
Ovsiannikov, 48, was convicted of six of the seven counts of evasion of sanctions between February 2023 and January 2024. The jury was unable to make a verdict on the final charge.
He was also convicted of possession and use of criminal property.
His brother, Alexei Owsjanikow, 47, was convicted on Wednesday on two counts of evasion of sanctions for paying tuition for Ovsiannikov’s child. He was found not guilty of three other counts of sanctions violations because his brother committed a Mercedes-Benz worth 54,500 pounds ($70,000) and allowed him to use a bank account.
Ekaterina Ovsiannikova, 47, has been cleared four counts for allegedly raising 76,000 pounds ($97,000) of sanctions to her husband.
The lawyer argued that the brother and wife did not know that Ovsiannikov was facing sanctions or that he could not get financial aid.
All three are Russian nationals, although Ovsiannikov and his brother have British passports because their father was born in England.
CPS said the case was the first prosecution of a violation of sanctions in the UK in 2019.
“Mr. Ovesianikov believes he can evade our sanctions,” Foreign Minister Stephen Doughty said in a statement. “We are firmly committed to increasing pressure on Putin, his relatives and all those who helped him in the barbaric war in Ukraine.”
Ovsiannikov and his brother will be sentenced later.
