NewsSociety

UK hands down £1 million to Petr Aven from frozen assets to pay luxury lifestyle expenses

Petr Aven, a Russian oligarch, has had £1 million of his frozen assets unlocked and was granted living expenses of £60,000 a month by the British authorities to maintain his luxury lifestyle, as per the Telegraph.

The Treasury has authorised the release of the living allowance, plus a one off £388,000 payment to settle “pressing debts”. These include fees to keep one of his children at a private school in the UK for the following summer term.

Aven was sanctioned by the EU and the UK in late February. The UK authorities described him as “a prominent Russian businessman and pro-Kremlin oligarch… involved in supporting the government of Russia” and being “associated with Putin”. In an interview for The Financial Times he complained about his challenges: “Will l be allowed to have a cleaner, or a driver? I don’t drive a car . . . maybe my stepdaughter will drive. We don’t understand how to survive,” he said.

TASS found out in May that the UK launched criminal proceedings against Aven for breaching the sanctions. He was only allowed to spend £2,500 each month, but the authorities believed he was spending more and “living beyond means.”

A court in London allowed Aven to use his bank accounts to pay for the “basic needs” in July; it was unclear how much money the Russian oligarch could be spending each month.

shareprint
Editor in chief — Kirill Martynov. Terms of use. Privacy policy.