Sanctioning an Oligarch is Not an Easy Task: Searching for Usmanov’s Millions

As Russian forces escalated their war of aggression against Ukraine in 2022, Western governments scrambled to sanction oligarchs connected to Putin’s war machine. Yet the task is far from simple when Kremlin-connected tycoons hide their billions in offshore trusts and Swiss bank accounts — and even behind the names of their family members.

In this episode, Nick Wallis talks with OCCRP editing duo Miranda Patrucic and Ilya Lozovsky, discussing how billionaire Alisher Usmanov concealed his fortune via secretive companies, business associates and family members — including Swiss bank accounts in his sister’s name despite her seemingly modest trade as a gynecologist.

We also hear from British Member of Parliament Kevin Hollinrake on how Russia’s invasion sparked a campaign to clamp down on dirty money washed through the U.K., as well as how effective Western sanctions have been in choking off the lifelines to Putin’s military campaign.

Dirty Deeds is a Little Gem production for OCCRP. The host is Nick Wallis. The producer is Lindsay Riley at Rethink Audio, with research from Phoebe Adler-Ryan and Riham Moussa.

Read the investigations:

Sanctioning an Oligarch Is Not So Easy: Why the Money Trail of Alisher Usmanov, One of Russia’s Wealthiest Men, Is Difficult to FollowOCCRP Russian Asset Tracker

This week’s guests:

Miranda PatrucicIlya LozovskyKevin Hollinrake

Transcript:

Read the transcript on the OCCRP website.

More information OCCRP:

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