A Labour MP has accused estate agents and associated property firms of helping sanctioned individuals evade UK asset freezes, warning that parts of the sector are enabling sanctions evasion and is calling for stronger enforcement action.
Speaking during a Commons debate, Lloyd Hatton MP, who is a member of the Public Accounts Committee, said official findings show it is “almost certain that lawyers, estate agents and associated property service firms based right here in the UK have helped clients to evade and avoid asset freezes, seemingly undermining our efforts from within”.
High-risk appetite
He said enforcement bodies were increasingly focused on “networks and professional enablers”, adding: “Some companies and enablers with a high-risk appetite are willing to provide services to sanctioned high net worth individuals, allowing them to maintain their property empire and sidestep sanctions altogether.”
Hatton warned that without tougher action, sanctions enforcement risked becoming “nothing more than a game of whack-a-mole”, with ownership obscured through complex corporate and trust structures, often involving offshore jurisdictions.
He pointed to findings from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation showing that since February 2022, more than a quarter of all suspected sanctions breaches involved intermediary jurisdictions, including the British Virgin Islands and Guernsey, describing this as “deeply concerning”.
The figures showed the authorities were bringing a water pistol to a knife fight”.
The MP also criticised the UK’s enforcement record, noting that the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation “has imposed just three fines for violations of the UK’s Russia sanctions regime in the past year, totalling a measly £622,750”. He said the figures showed the authorities were “bringing a water pistol to a knife fight”.
He highlighted high-profile cases, such as Roman Abramovich, who was able to transfer property and other assets shortly before being sanctioned, showing how easily freezes can be circumvented.
Hatton says the Government must now “strengthen the policing of sanctions evasion with a clear focus on networks and professional enablers”, warning that without tougher scrutiny and meaningful penalties, those facilitating sanctions breaches would continue to assume enforcement in the UK was “patchy at best”.
You can read the full speech here.
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