LONDON: The UK has imposed sanctions on billionaire sports and mining mogul Alisher Usmanov after his £500m super yacht was seized by German authorities in the crackdown on Russian oligarchs after the invasion of Ukraine.

Igor Shuvalov, a former Russian Deputy Prime Minister, has also been sanctioned in the UK.

Uzbekistan-born Usmanov once held a significant shareholding in Premier League Arsenal but sold up in 2018 when he became linked to Everton. He also owns £48m Beechwood House in Highgate and 16th century Sutton Place estate in Surrey.

Earlier this week Everton suspended its commercial partnerships with Usmanov’s USM Holdings.

Shuvalov was named in parliament by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer on Wednesday as owning two luxury apartments in central London worth an estimated £11m. He headed up Russia’s bid for the 2018 football World Cup.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that the pair – together thought to be worth £19bn – will be subjected to a full asset freeze and travel ban.

Speaking in the Commons, Labour MP Chris Bryant said: “It’s a mystery to me why [Chelsea owner] Roman Abramovich has not yet been sanctioned. The government itself knows that he’s been engaged in illicit activity and he’s a person for concern for the government, which is why they’ve not been encouraging him to come to the UK.

“I don’t know why the UK has not seized a single yacht, or a flat, or a property of any other kind while other countries in Europe are able to do that.”

Ms Dorries replied: “In football, I agree with him, we have tolerated the investment of Russian kleptocrats for far too long.”
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