The Royal Court in London sentenced former 'governor' of annexed Sevastopol Dmitry Ovsyannikov to 3 years and 4 months in prison for violating British sanctions, reported TASS agency. His brother Alexey received a suspended sentence of 1 year and 3 months for aiding and abetting. This is the first case in the UK where a person has been found guilty of circumventing the sanctions regime against Russia.
Ovsyannikov headed Sevastopol from 2016 to 2019. In 2017, Britain, following the EU, imposed sanctions on him due to 'actions threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of Ukraine'. Despite this, Ovsyannikov obtained British citizenship because his father was born in the UK. The former official applied for citizenship online in the summer of 2022.
He arrived in the UK in February 2023, and in January 2024, Ovsyannikov was detained and questioned. During the investigation, he was under a travel ban.
On April 10, the jury in the Southwark court found Ovsyannikov guilty on six out of seven counts of circumventing sanctions from February 2023 to January 2024. Specifically, in the UK, despite the sanctions, he used a bank account where his wife transferred about £76,000 ($97,000). Ovsyannikov's brother, Alexey, also purchased a Mercedes-Benz car in his name and paid for his children's education in a private school.
'Ovsyannikov thought he could circumvent our sanctions, but the verdict proves otherwise. We intend to continue increasing pressure on [Vladimir] Putin, his entourage, and all those who contribute to his barbaric war in Ukraine,' stated Stephen Doughty, UK Junior Minister for Europe, North America, and Overseas Territories.
Photo: EPA