Who Is Alisher Usmanov? Russian Oligarch Smartly Ditched Properties Before UK Sanctions

The UK has sanctioned a Russian billionaire, but he claims he no longer owns several of his old assets, potentially placing them beyond of reach of the law.

Alisher Usmanov’s £82 million London property and Surrey mansion were placed in trusts related to the oligarch.

This calls into question the effectiveness of the sanctions that have been in place since the invasion of Ukraine began.

Mr Usmanov “cannot access his assets,” according to the UK government. Alisher Usmanov was added to the list of sanctioned Russian businessmen on March 3, seven days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

His assets were frozen, he was barred from entering the United Kingdom, and British citizens and enterprises were forbidden from doing business with him.

Alisher Usmanov, 68, is the owner of USM Holdings, a massive conglomerate involved in mining and telecoms, including Russia’s second-largest mobile network MegaFon. Alisher Usmanov was born in Uzbekistan in the Soviet Union.

His wealth is believed to be worth $18.4 billion (£14 billion), according to the UK government, and includes “Beechwood House in Highgate… and the 16th century Sutton Place estate in Surrey.”

According to BBC analysis, Beechwood House is currently worth around £82 million.