AA / Tunis
The United Kingdom announced sanctions on Thursday against three figures who “misappropriated wealth from their countries of origin”, as well as their friends, families and intermediaries who helped them, the British government announced in a statement published on its site.
The sanctions mark the first step in the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ new campaign aimed at fighting corruption and illicit financing, specifies the same source.
“A woman once dubbed ‘Africa’s richest woman’, who embezzled at least £350 million, and a corrupt oligarch, who extracted hundreds of millions of pounds from Ukraine’s economy, are among people subject to new travel bans and asset freezes by the Minister of Foreign Affairs”, underlines the government.
Today’s announcement marks the start of a new campaign by the Minister of Foreign Affairs aimed at combating corruption and illicit financing, the statement said adding that the Minister of Foreign Affairs will work closely with his counterparts in Cabinet, including the Home Secretary and the Chancellor, to implement an ambitious government program to combat the devastating effects of corruption and illicit financing, both at home and abroad.
The people sanctioned today are:
– Dmitry Firtash, “a notorious oligarch who extorted hundreds of millions of pounds from Ukraine through corruption and his control over gas distribution, and who hid tens of millions of pounds in ill-gotten gains from Britain’s only real estate market. The UK also sanctioned his wife, Lada Firtash, who profited from his corruption and held British assets on his behalf, including the site of the former Brompton Road tube station, and Denis Gorbunenko, a “fixer” UK-based financier who enabled and facilitated Firtash’s corruption, the government says.
– Isabel Dos Santos, the daughter of the former Angolan president, “systematically abused her position within state-owned companies to embezzle at least £350 million, thereby depriving Angola of resources and funding for development essential”, according to the same source.
– Aivars Lembergs, one of the richest people in Latvia, “abused his political position to commit bribery and launder money”, finally notes the press release specifying that “Lembergs tried to cover up the proceeds of his corruption in investment companies and other corporate structures, notably in the name of his daughter, Liga Lemberga, also sanctioned today.
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