‘Only sanctions will stop Russia invading Ukraine'

BRITAIN and her allies must act now to impose sanctions on Russian oligarchs if Moscow is to be deterred from invading Ukraine, an expert dubbed “Putin’s number one enemy” warned last night.

- Marco Giannangeli

Bill Browder, a US-British financier who claims his investments in Russia were looted by corrupt officials, said that there were many “legitimate targets” to go after financially.

The country’s oligarchs have ploughed more than £450billion into the City since 1994, of which around £260million a year has been revenue. Benefactors have included UK asset management firms and estate agents – which received an annual £100million for Russian property purchases alone.

Mr. Browder’s lawyer was Sergei Magnitsky, whose death in custody in 2009 led him to lobby for the Magnitsky Act, which allows countries to sanction those it sees as human rights offenders and freeze their assets.