E fundit!

15:24 TODAY

The Black Chronicle Today/ What is really happening and why it is no longer read like it used to be

When Albanians look for dark news today, they are not simp...

Ukrainian oligarch among those sanctioned by Britain

2024-11-21 16:45:08, Kosova & Bota CNA

Ukrainian billionaire Dmytro Firtash is among eight people targeted by new British sanctions, which accuse the group, which also includes Firtash's wife, Lada, of large-scale, international corruption.

Angolan-Russian billionaire Isabel dos Santos and Latvian politician and businessman Aivars Lembergs are also among those sanctioned on November 21.

The British government accuses oligarch Firtash of bribing officials to secure mining licenses for his company and illegally profiting from the Ukrainian gas transportation system.

Firtash is also linked to the financier, Denys Horbunenko, a resident of the United Kingdom, who was also put on the sanctions list, as he is estimated to be an associate of Firtash.

Firtash has also faced the law in Ukraine due to accusations of embezzlement and money laundering, for involvement in fraudulent gas trading schemes.

The United States has sought his extradition from Austria on charges of bribing officials from India.

Firtash, who rose to prominence in 2000 through his RosUkrEnergo joint venture with Russian energy giant Gazprom, has denied allegations that he works for Russia's interests.

Dos Santos, the daughter of former Angolan president Jose Eduardo dos Santos, is Africa's first female billionaire. She is accused of corruption in Angola, where she is alleged to have used her political connections for personal gain.

Dos Santos claims to have had Russian citizenship at birth, having been born in Baku, Azerbaijan in 1973, when the country was part of the former Soviet Union.

Lembergs, the former mayor of the Latvian city of Ventspils, has been sentenced in Latvia to five years in prison for corruption. He claimed that the charges against him were politically motivated.

The sanctions are part of Britain's efforts to fight international corruption and disrupt the financial networks of individuals accused of abusing power for personal gain.

Sanctions include asset freezes, travel bans and bans on those sanctioned accessing the British financial system or entering the UK./ REL