The UK’s National Crime Agency has claimed it recovered the money in the first UK seizured sanctioned funds. The money was held for the benefit of Petr Aven, despite not being in his name. It had been frozen since 2022 when he was sanctioned by the UK government for supporting the Russian government.
Petr Aven holds Latvian and Russian citizenship and is a Russian businessman and former politician. He was the Minister of Economic Affairs during the administration of Russian President Boris Yeltsin in 1992. In 2011 he became Chairman of Alfa Bank, one of Russia’s largest private banks, owning about 12% of its shares.
In 2021, Petr Aven and his business associates were sanctioned by US, UK and EU.
The National Crime Agency stated that Stephen Gater, Aven’s estate manager, made attempts to move Aven’s frozen assets.
These attempts constituted a violation of UK sanctions.
The agreement between the National Crime Agency (NCA) and Stephen Gater regarding the forfeiture of £783,827.34 has been ratified in Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 29 July 2024.
