Billionaire Putin ally forfeits £750,000 in UK sanctions case

NCA said forfeiture of cash belonging to Petr Aven was first time it has recovered, rather than frozen, sanctioned funds

A UK aide to one of Vladimir Putin’s “closest” oligarchs has agreed to forfeit more than £750,000 after a two-year investigation into sanctions dodging.

Cash belonging to Petr Aven – a tycoon closely linked to Russia’s president for about three decades – had previously been frozen in 2022, shortly after the businessman was sanctioned by the UK for supporting the Kremlin in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.