Ukraine oligarch among 3 ‘notorious kleptocrats’ sanctioned by UK

Three “notorious kleptocrats” — including a Ukrainian oligarch wanted in the US — were sanctioned by the British government on Thursday in a bid to tackle dirty money flowing through the UK, officials said.

Dmytro Firtash, a puppet of Russian president Vladimir Putin, Isabel dos Santos of Angola and Latvia’s Aivars Lembergs — along with some of their friends, family and fixers — were hit with an asset freeze and travel ban under global anti-corruption measures, the government said.

“The golden age of money laundering is over,” UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a statement.

“These unscrupulous individuals selfishly deprive their fellow citizens of much-needed funding for education, healthcare and infrastructure – for their own enrichment. I committed to taking on kleptocrats and the dirty money that empowers them when I became Foreign Secretary and these sanctions mark the first step in delivering this ambition. The tide is turning.”

The new UK sanctions are a “helpful signal” that may trigger a new round of sanctions in the US and EU, Gary Kalman, director of Transparency International’s US office, told the Post.

“Moving money around the globe without using the US dollar can be quite difficult,” Kalman said. “That said, the Euro and the [British] pound are certainly important currencies and so coordinating amongst these three helps make life difficult for sanctioned individuals. Now that the UK has come out with these new sanctions, the US should also take a look.”

Firtash, who made his fortune in the gas trade thanks in large part to his close ties to Putin, has stashed tens of millions of dollars in UK real estate alone, according to a press release from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, known as FCDO.

Firtash is wanted in Chicago for his alleged role in a bribery conspiracy. He is believed to be hiding out in Austria to avoid extradition to the US. 

The UK also sanctioned his wife, Lada Firtash, who owns property bought with illicit funds — including the site of a former Underground station known as Brompton Road — and Firtash’s UK-based fixer, Denis Gorbunenko, who “enabled and facilitated Firtash’s corruption,” UK officials said. 

Earlier this year, Ukraine also charged Firtash with stealing $485 million from consumers of Ukraine’s natural gas distribution system, according to reports. Firtash made his fortune in the gas trade thanks in large part to his close ties to Putin.

In 2008, during the great economic recession, Firtash tried to develop New York’s Drake Hotel site, where 432 Park Avenue, once the tallest residential building in the western hemisphere, now stands. 

Dos Santos, dubbed the richest woman in Africa, is the daughter of Angola’s former president. She has allegedly embezzled at least $450 million. Her property holdings are in Lisbon, Monte Carlo and Dubai, where she currently lives, among other places. 

The money she stole “deprive[d] Angola of resources and funding for much-needed development,” UK officials said.

Dos Santos has also been on Interpol’s Red Notice list since November 2022. Last month, she lost a case at the Court of Appeal regarding her worldwide asset freeze. 

The UK has also sanctioned her friend and business partner Paula Oliveira and her chief financial officer, Sarju Raikundalia, “both of whom helped Dos Santos funnel Angola’s national wealth for her own benefit,” the FCDO release said. 

Lembergs, one of Latvia’s wealthiest people, was sanctioned in the UK because he “attempted to hide the proceeds of his corruption in investment trusts and other structures,” including those held in the name of his daughter, Liga Lemberga, who was also sanctioned.

He was sanctioned by the US in 2019. In 2021, Lembergs was found guilty of 19 charges including extorting bribes, forgery of documents, money laundering, and improper use of office in a court in Riga, according to FCDO.

Stopping money laundering in the US  — which is now understood to be an important element of US national security — is one area where Democrats and Republicans have strong bipartisan support, Kalman said.

Kalman added that the past Trump administration was strong on sanctions and that Marco Rubio — the president-elect’s nomination for Secretary of State — “understands the value of sanctions and working with our allies to use coordinated sanctions to really choke off the global financial system to bad actors.” 

New laws, like the Corporate Transparency Act, which went into effect last January, may also help the US uncover where kleptocrats like Firtash, Dos Santos and Lembergs have secretly bought American properties.

Companies have until Jan. 1, 2025, to register their beneficial owners. About 800,000 companies are currently registering every week, Kalman said. 

Next year, anti-corruption advocates hope the US will also pass the Enablers Act, which seeks to stop American lawyers, accountants and other professionals from working to help bad actors stash stolen cash in the United States and abroad.