Britain imposed sanctions against members of Vladimir Putin’s family and inner circle. The new sanctions list includes Olympic champion Alina Kabaeva, who is believed to be his mistress, and his ex-wife Lyudmila Ocheretnaya.
A total of 12 people — friends and relatives of Putin — were added to the sanctions list on Friday. They are “a shadowy network financing his lavish lifestyle,” according to the website of the UK government. These sanctions will affect people who owe Putin their wealth and power while supporting him and his war machine, the website says.
The official reason for Kabaeva’s inclusion on the list is that she is the CEO of the National Media Group. It includes Channel One, Channel Five, REN TV, the Izvestia newspaper, and other pro-government propaganda media. The British authorities believe that they contribute to undermining Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Kabaeva is considered to be Putin’s mistress and the two allegedly have common children. The Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung named Putin as the father of two boys that Kabaeva gave birth to in 2015 and 2019. The Kremlin neither confirmed nor denied these reports. Britain became the first country to impose sanctions against Kabaeva. Earlier, such measures were also discussed in the United States, The Wall Street Journal reported. The National Security Council did not impose them, fearing a negative reaction from Putin and an escalation in relations with Russia, the newspaper’s sources said.
Who else is on the new sanctions list:
▪ Lyudmila Ocheretnaya, Putin’s ex-wife. British authorities believe that she continues to receive preferential treatment for her business from the Kremlin after her divorce.
▪ Anna Zatsepilina, Alina Kabaeva’s grandmother. She received a luxury apartment in Moscow from Gennady Timchenko, a longtime friend of Putin.
▪️ Igor Putin, a cousin of the Russian president and director of the Pechenga seaport in Murmansk Oblast.
▪️ Mikhail Putin, a relative of Vladimir Putin, Deputy Chairman of the Board of SOGAZ Insurance Company and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Gazprom.
▪️ Roman Putin, nephew of Vladimir Putin. He claims that a family connection to Putin allowed his company, Putin Consulting, to help foreign investors in Russia.
▪️ Mikhail Shelomov, son of Vladimir Putin’s cousin. The company he owns, Accept, is connected to OOO Binom, which owned Putin’s Palace. This came to light through the investigation of the Anti-Corruption Foundation. Shelomov, through Accept, is also a shareholder in Rossiya Bank, which is linked to the Kremlin and managed by Putin’s key associates, the Statement of Reasons says.
▪️ Mikhail Klishin, executive director of Rossiya Bank and a member of the board of directors of SOGAZ.
▪️ Alexander Plekhov, a close friend of Putin. His company Vital Development Corporation benefited with the help of government agencies.
▪️ Vladimir Kolbin, general director of the Gelendzhik Sea Port, son of Peter Kolbin, who is a childhood friend and supposed business partner of Putin. After Putin came to power, Kolbin Sr. became a billionaire, and now his money is used by Putin to cover his personal expenses. You can learn more about this in this ACF investigation.
▪️ Yuri Shamalov, brother of Putin’s former son-in-law Kirill Shamalov. Yuri is part of a new elite formed from the children of Putin’s closest associates; he quickly rose to become the president of Gazfond and a member of Gazprombank’s board of directors, the Statement of Reasons says. The ACF reported how his kinship with Putin’s daughter Katerina Tikhonova enriched the Shamalov family.
▪️ Viktor Khmarin, husband of Putin’s relative. Khmarin owned a number of businesses, including companies from the energy sector.
The Statements of Reasons suggest that the new sanctions will isolate members of Putin’s family and inner circle in order to increase pressure on him over the invasion of Ukraine.