Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's step-daughter has been hit by the UK’s latest set of sanctions and will have her assets, thought to include a £4 million London property, frozen.
Polina Kovaleva, in her mid-twenties, is one of 65 Russian individuals targeted in today’s sanction announcement as the Government continues to crackdown on those “aiding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine”.
The Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary organisation reportedly tasked with assassinating Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, also featured on the target list.
The UK has now sanctioned over 1,000 individuals and businesses.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement: “These oligarchs, businesses and hired thugs are complicit in the murder of innocent civilians and it is right that they pay the price.
Graphic announcing the sanctions
UK Government
"Putin should be under no illusions – we are united with our allies and will keep tightening the screw on the Russian economy to help ensure he fails in Ukraine. There will be no let up."
The The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said Ms Kovaleva was being targeted to send a strong signal that people “benefiting from association of those responsible for Russian aggression” are within the scope of its sanctions.
The Treasury notice said “there are reasonable grounds to suspect that (Ms Kovaleva) is associated with the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov… through her mother’s relationship with him”.
It added that Mr Lavrov is “is a senior member of the government of Russia, and a key decision-maker”.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss confirmed the sanctions on Twitter
Twitter
“He is thereby involved in its attempts to destabilise Ukraine and undermining and threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence of Ukraine,” it said.
Reports suggest Ms Kovaleva attended a private boarding school in Bristol before achieving a first-class degree from Loughborough University.
It is thought she later gained a master’s in economics and strategy for business from Imperial College London, and worked for Gazprom, the Russian energy giant.
Ms Truss said: "Today’s sanctions will bring the total global asset value of the banks the UK has sanctioned since the invasion to £500 billion and the net worth of the oligarchs and family members in excess of £150 billion.
"The provisions brought in by the Economic Crime Act have streamlined the previous legislation so the UK can respond even more swiftly and effectively to the current crisis. The government will continue to tighten the screw and use sanctions to degrade the Russian economy on a scale that the Kremlin, or any major economy, has never seen before.
"The UK has led the international sanctions effort, cutting off whole sectors of the Russian economy by targeting its defence companies, its trade and transport sector, and working with allies to exclude Russia from the SWIFT financial system."
