The UK’s Overseas Territories (OT) and sanctions against Russia

In February 2022, the UK and other countries introduced sanctions against Russia in response to its military action against Ukraine, targeting its financial sector and assets held by Russian politicians and oligarchs.

The number, distribution, and value of Russian assets to be targeted by sanctions in the OTs is unknown, but some estimates have been published:

In February 2022, Transparency International linked £830 million worth of property in the UK’s OTs and CDs to individuals close to Russian President Vladimir Putin or Russians accused of corruption – read more here. This is 55% of £1.5 billion worth of property owned by the individuals it identified in the UK and its OTs/CDs – read more here.

In 2018, Global Witness said £34 billion was currently invested by Russians in the UK’s OTs. The British Virgin Islands was identified as the second most popular destination for money leaving Russia, behind Cyprus.9

Its report also said that a total of £68.5 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) from Russian residents had been directed towards the OTs from 2007 to 2016. This contrasted with £9 billion in the UK over the
same period.

The British Virgin Islands had received £56.3 billion of the FDI over this period, Bermuda £7.1 billion, and Gibraltar £3.4 billion – Missing_the_bigger_picture_-_Russian_money_and_the_UKs_tax_havens_FINAL

Source – House of Commons Library CBP-9485