Former Crimea governor under Putin, Dmitrij Ovsjannikow, arrested in London for sanction violations
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Feb 1, 2024 | updated: 4:34 AM EST, March 7, 2024
According to "The Times," the former governor of occupied Sevastopol was arrested at his home in London.
'Putin's man' arrested in London
Dmitrij Ovsjannikow is scheduled to stand trial on February 20. This man, associated with Vladimir Putin, stands accused of bypassing sanctions to open an account in a London bank. He is alleged to have made four financial transactions totalling approximately $86,224 and withdraw cash totalling about $102,961.
From 2017 to 2019, Ovsjannikow served as the governor of Sevastopol in Crimea, a region occupied by Russia. He also held positions within the Russian government, including Deputy Minister of Commerce and Industry. In 2020, however, he was stripped of his government position due to a scandal reportedly involving indecent behaviour at the Izhevsk airport.
The UK authorities imposed sanctions on him at the end of 2020 and froze his UK assets.
Currently, Ovsjannikow is in a London prison.
The Russian BBC service highlighted that this situation is unusual. Typically, people arrested for crimes that do not involve the use of violence are released from prison after bail has been paid.
Sources: Radio Svoboda, The Insider, "The Times", BBC, Ukrainian Pravda
