UK targets oligarchs' aircraft and ships with new legal powers

Laws will prohibit the maintenance of luxury vehicles belonging to Russians hit by British sanctions

Russian-owned superyacht Phi was detained in Canary Wharf, London. Reuters

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New laws have been announced by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) which aim to “prevent Russian oligarch access to UK aviation and maritime technical services”.

The legislation will prohibit the maintenance of aircraft or ships belonging to Russian oligarchs and businesses hit by UK sanctions, the department said.

The FCDO said the new powers, which have been laid out in the UK Parliament via a statutory instrument, had been used to impose sanctions Russian businessmen Eugene Shvidler and Oleg Tinkov.

Meanwhile, the finance, trade and shipping sanctions imposed in relation to Crimea have been expanded to the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

“There is no doubt that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and his elite have been surprised by the strength of our sanctions" said Britiish Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.

“We will continue to ramp up the pressure so long as Russian troops are in Ukraine, targeting not only the businesses of oligarchs but also their assets and international lifestyles. ”

“Our economic and transport sanctions are working to suffocate those most complicit in Putin’s regime ensuring that no one on UK soil can support Putin’s inhuman assault in Ukraine,” Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said.