Daniel Sandford
UK correspondent
Kremlin handout
In 2016, Putin appointed Ovsiannikov as a governor in Crimea
A person who President Vladimir Putin appointed because the Governor of Sevastopol after Crimea used to be illegally annexed via Russia has long past on trial accused of breaching UK monetary sanctions towards him.
Dmitrii Ovsiannikov is accused of receiving greater than £75,000 from his spouse Ekaterina Ovsiannikova and a brand new Mercedes Benz SUV from his brother Alexei Owsjanikow.
Between them, the 3 defendants at Southwark Crown Courtroom face 10 fees of breaching the sanctions, and two fees of cash laundering. They deny all of the fees.
Dmitrii held a senior place in Crimea for 3 years and the courtroom heard he used to be additionally Russia’s Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry.
Two years after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, President Vladimir Putin appointed Dmitrii Ovsiannikov as performing governor of the “strategically vital” town of Sevastopol in Crimea, the jury had been advised.
In 2017, elections had been held there for the placement of governor and Mr Ovsiannikov received.
Paul Jarvis, for the prosecution, mentioned he “used to be a very powerful political determine inside the Russian Federation” regardless that Dmitrii Ovsiannikov later resigned from the placement in July 2019.
Because of his senior task in illegally annexed Crimea, the EU imposed monetary sanctions on Mr Ovsiannikov pronouncing that amongst different issues he had “known as for Sevastopol to turn out to be the southern capital of the Russian Federation.”
When the United Kingdom left the EU, the United Kingdom imposed monetary sanctions on him too. He later challenged the EU sanctions and had them lifted, however the United Kingdom sanctions nonetheless observe.
They’re known as the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Go out) Rules 2019. The laws make it a legal offence to check out to get around the sanctions.
The trial is the primary legal case involving the breach of the Russia Rules.
In August 2022, Dmitrii Ovsiannikov travelled to Turkey from Russia and implemented for a British passport.
Although the United Kingdom sanctions nonetheless implemented, the jury heard that he used to be granted a passport in January 2023, which he used to be entitled to as a result of his father used to be born in the United Kingdom.
Mr Jarvis mentioned: “The daddy of Dmitrii and Alexei have been born in Bradford, United Kingdom, in 1950. Their mom used to be Russian. Dmitrii and Alexei grasp British passports via distinctive feature in their father being a British citizen.”
Dmitrii Ovsiannikov then arrived in Britain on 1 February 2023, shifting into his brother’s space in Clapham, the place his spouse and two more youthful kids had been already residing and attending non-public faculty.
PA Media
Ekaterina Ovsiannikova (left) and Alexei Owsjanikow are accused of giving Dmitrii Ovsiannikov greater than £75,000 and a brand new automobile
On 6 February, Dmitrii Ovsiannikov implemented for a Halifax checking account, pronouncing at the shape that he used to be unmarried, but in addition pronouncing that he used to be residing in Clapham along with his spouse.
Over the following two and a part weeks Ekaterina Ovsiannikova transferred £76,000 into her husband’s account permitting him to position down a deposit on a Mercedes Benz GLC 300 SUV.
Then again, the financial institution later realised he used to be on the United Kingdom sanctions checklist and iced up the account.
After this, he went again to the dealership and recovered his deposit. His brother Alexei Owsjanikow purchased the auto as an alternative, paying greater than £54,000 the prosecution mentioned.
The prosecution say that after Mr Ovsiannikov’s spouse despatched him the £76,000 and his brother purchased the auto they had been in breach of the Russia Rules.
Mr Jarvis advised the jury that “they deal with that they both didn’t know that Dmitrii used to be a delegated particular person or they didn’t realise that as a delegated particular person he used to be no longer authorized to obtain that form of lend a hand”.
He additionally added that Dmitrii Ovsiannikov should have identified he used to be topic to UK sanctions, as a result of on 7 February 2023 he used to be making use of for them to be lifted and had integrated his distinctive ID quantity and workforce ID quantity from his sanctions checklist at the shape.
Talking to the jury, Mr Jarvis mentioned that this confirmed that Mr Ovsiannikov used to be conscious about the sanctions “and he should have made his nearest and dearest conscious about that too”.
In January 2024 all 3 defendants had been arrested and interviewed via police.
4 months later, Alexei Owsjanikow paid greater than £40,000 at school charges for his brother’s two youngest kids who had been on the Royal Russell Faculty in Croydon – additionally a breach of the sanctions.
Paul Jarvis advised the jury that during a police interview Alexei approved that he had paid the college charges, however he maintained that the bills didn’t quantity to a breach of the Russian Rules as a result of he believed that Ekaterina used to be only liable for the ones charges and no longer Dmitrii.
The trial is predicted to proceed at Southwark Crown Courtroom for 3 weeks.
