For the first time in the UK, the National Crime Agency has secured the forfeiture of sanctioned funds under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
The money, which the NCA argues was held for the benefit of Petr Aven despite not being in his name, had been frozen since 2022, when he was sanctioned by the UK for supporting the government of Russia.
Aven is the former head of Russia’s largest commercial bank.
Attempts to relocate the funds, as well as transactions made after March 15 2022 by Aven’s estate manager, Stephen Gater, are believed by the NCA to have been in breach of those sanctions. These included the payment of salaries to over 20 members of Aven’s household staff, and the sale of a Bentley Bentayga worth £160,000.
In 2022, the NCA obtained nine Account Freezing Orders over accounts linked to Aven, together with two sets of detained cash.
The agreement between the NCA and Stephen Gater for the forfeiture of £783,827.34 was ratified at Westminster Magistrates Court on 29 July 2024.
The head of the NCA’s Combatting Kleptocracy Cell, said:
“The result announced today is significant, and marks the end of a complex and long-running investigation by the NCA’s Combatting Kleptocracy Cell.
“It demonstrates the NCA’s commitment to enforcing the UK’s sanctions regime, and to recovering money held unlawfully for the benefit of the public purse.”
29 July 2024
