Sir Keir Starmer has pressed Boris Johnson to sanction a former Russian deputy Prime Minister who owns a luxury flat in a Westminster block which used to be the home of MI6. Igor Shuvalov, a key ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, owns a 5,380 sq ft penthouse at Whitehall Court which was previously two flats, according to leaked documents.
The apartment is valued at more than £11 million and is understood to contain six bedrooms and a lounge with a view of the River Thames. It is less than a 10 minute walk to the Houses of Parliament – which was handy when the block was the headquarters of the UK’s foreign intelligence service, MI6 until the end of the First World War.
Today (Wednesday, March 2) Labour leader Sir Keir called for Mr Shuvalov to be added to the UK’s sanctions list, which could see his assets “frozen” or even seized from him, amid Russia’s war on Ukraine. The Labour leader used Prime Minister’s Questions to suggest more action is needed from the UK to “stand up to Putin and those who prop up his regime”.
READ MORE:Clampdown on Russian–owned London homes could see ‘substantial’ money moving out of the UK
Mr Shuvalov’s central London flat is believed to be worth more than £11m
(Image: Google Maps)
Sir Keir said: “Last week, Putin summoned to the Kremlin the cronies who prop up his regime, they dip their hands in the blood of Putin’s war. Among them was Igor Shuvalov, Putin’s former deputy prime minister.
“He is on the EU sanctions list, but he’s not on the UK sanctions list. When will the Prime Minister sort this out?”
Mr Johnson replied: “I think the House should be proud of what we have done already. And I can tell him that there is more to be done. And thanks to the powers that this House and this Government has taken, we can sanction any individual, any company connected with the Putin regime.
“This Government was amongst the first in Europe to ban Aeroflot from our skies. This Government led the way last week in banning the use of Swift. And if he talked to any of our European partners, he would understand the leading role the UK has already paid and the impact that those sanctions are already having in Moscow.”
Sir Keir said two flats owned by Mr Shuvalov are registered under a company owned by the Russian politician and his wife. He told MPs: “We only know which oligarch lurks beneath that shell company because of the information obtained and disclosed by Alexei Navalny. Navalny, of course, was poisoned by the Russian state and he now sits in a Putin jail.
“Transparency is essential to rooting out corruption. It should be built into our law but it’s not. And I’m ashamed that we only know about Shuvalov’s Westminster flats because a dissident risked his life. Is the Prime Minister?”
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Mr Johnson said: “The UK, of course, is doing everything that we can to expose ill-gotten Russian loot, and this has been something that we have been working on for a long time, and that we actually were the first to impose sanctions on those who were guilty of the poisoning of Alexei Navalny.”
He added: “What we are bringing forward now is the exposure of the ownership of properties in London and across the whole of the UK in a way that has not been possible before, and that I believe will continue to tighten the noose around Putin’s regime.”
Well-known residents of Whitehall Court have included 19th century Prime Minister William Gladstone, First World War icon Lord Kitchener, George Bernard Shaw, and Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia.
According to official records obtained by Russian activist Alexei Navalny, the flat is controlled by a company owned by Mr Shuvalov and his wife. The former Russian deputy prime minister’s spokesman called the revelations “nothing new” in an interview with the radio station Govorit Moskva, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Putin ally Mr Shuvalov has been slapped with sanctions from the EU – restricting his ability to travel and do business in Europe – but not the UK. In 2016, the Times reported that he had used a £38 million private jet to transport his wife’s corgis to dog shows across Europe.
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More than £1.5 billion worth of UK property was bought by Russians accused of corruption or links to the Kremlin between 2016 and 2021, most of it in London, according to Transparency International. Nearly £430 million worth is in the City of Westminster, while £283 million is in Kensington and Chelsea.
Eaton Square, in Belgravia, for example, has been nicknamed ‘Red Square’ due to the amount of Russian-owned property there. Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich bought a £28million house there in 2003. Calls are growing for the UK government to toughen up sanctions on the billions of pounds worth of London property held by Russian elites. So far UK sanctions have only targeted a handful of individuals.
Russia expert Professor Galeotti told MyLondon last week that while sanctions were necessary, they are “not going to change Putin’s mind”. He continued: “Applying them might degrade Putin’s economy. But they’re not going to have a big impact. Short term, the impacts on us will be noticeable, but that’s the price we pay for not being more muscular. We don’t want to see UK soldiers fighting in Ukraine.”
Mayor Sadiq Khan has called for crippling sanctions on Putin’s Russian associates in London, after the Russian president launched a “full-scale attack” on Ukraine.
I joined MyLondon as the outlet’s first City Hall Editor in October 2021, reporting on the Mayor, the London Assembly, the Met police, Transport for London, and wider London politics.
I moved to South London from Brussels in 2015, working in communications for the Electoral Reform Society, and covering Westminster politics as a freelance journalist. I’m originally from Cornwall and love the sea – but also London’s liveliness. I’m a big fan of puns, tea and twee folk music.
If there’s a good untold story – whether it’s housing nightmares, unfair decisions or local scandals, you can be sure I’ll aim to cover it. Got a story, piece of gossip or feedback? Get in touch at [email protected] or contact me on Twitter.
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