A key ally of the Russian president has been sentenced in London for breaking sanctions, after receiving a British passport despite having frozen assets. Dmitry Ovsiannikov was the first person to be prosecuted for violating sanctions against Russia. These were imposed when Vladimir Putin appointed him governor of the strategically important city of Sevastopol, following the annexation of Crimea.
Ovsiannikov received a British passport and began a new life in London in 2023, despite the sanctions. The ability of such an important figure to obtain a British passport will raise questions about the checks on the nearly 5,000 people targeted by sanctions, The Times reports.
On Wednesday, he was convicted at Southwark Crown Court on six charges of violating the sanctions imposed on Russia. “Mr. Ovsiannikov believed he could hide from our sanctions. [The verdict] proves otherwise. We are firmly committed to increasing pressure on Putin, his allies and all those who support his barbaric war in Ukraine,” said Stephen Doughty, deputy foreign minister for sanctions.
Ovsiannikov, 48, was deputy minister of trade in the Russian government before serving as governor of Sevastopol between 2016 and 2019. State media reports repeatedly showed Ovsiannikov briefing Putin and attending official events together.
As governor, he invited Roger Waters to perform in Sevastopol after the Pink Floyd singer endorsed the “reunification” of Crimea with Russia. He wrote to Waters: “We are convinced that such a campaign of yours, together with your world-renowned musician colleagues, will become a major event and will play an effective role in the fight for peace in the world.”
Ovsiannikov was released from his governor post amid reports of massive fraud in construction contracts and the operation of a new parking fee system.
He was reappointed as deputy minister, but was later dismissed and expelled from the ruling party United Russia in April 2020, after being caught abusing airport security officials when he was prevented from entering an airport during the Covid lockdown.
British Origins
Ovsiannikov arranged for his eldest daughter to attend Royal Russell School in Croydon, south London, where the boarding fees are £52,000 per year.
He was initially subject to EU sanctions in 2017, but after Brexit he was covered by separate British restrictions. Ovsiannikov is said to have moved to Cyprus and then to Turkey, where he applied for a British passport in August 2022. He was eligible because his father, Wlodzimierz Owsjanikow, was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire in July 1950. Official documents show that his great-grandfather, Dimitir Owsjanikow, was a “canvas weaver” in an area known for its textile factories.
Ovsiannikov uses the Russian version of the last name, while his brother, Alexei, continues to use the original, which is more common in Poland.
The passport application was submitted two months before a court decided that EU sanctions should be lifted, Southwark Crown Court heard. The new passport arrived in January 2023, five days before the lifting of EU sanctions, but while UK restrictions were still in place.
While in Turkey, he was negotiating the purchase of a yacht worth £200,000, and the discussion continued after he arrived in London, the court heard.
A few days after moving to London, he wrote to the Foreign Office, claiming that his British sanctions should be lifted because he voluntarily resigned from all positions held in the Russian government. He also requested a driver’s license.
When The Times revealed details of his indictment, the Russian embassy in London officially requested “notification of the reasons and circumstances of the arrest.”
Wife acquited, brother convicted
Ovsiannikov was convicted on four counts of sanctions breaches for receiving a total of £76,000 into his bank account from his wife. He was also convicted on two counts for using money from his brother to purchase and insure a £54,500 Mercedes.
He was also found guilty of two counts under the Proceeds of Crime Act for possessing and spending £1,514.77.
Ovsiannikov did not testify, but the court heard that he claimed he was not warned by the government that he was under sanctions and was notified for the first time by a bank when it closed his newly opened account.
His wife, Ekaterina Ovsiannikova, 47, an economist, told the court that she was independently wealthy. She transferred £800,000 from Russia to a new British bank account to start their new life in London and gave her husband £76,000 because she wanted him to feel “independent.” She was acquitted of all charges.
His brother, Alexei Owsjanikow, 47, was described by the prosecution as a “mysterious international man” who traveled frequently abroad. He gave his brother’s eldest daughter £1.7 million to buy a house where they all lived in Clapham, south London.
Owsjanikow was found guilty of violating sanctions by paying