According to prosecutors, three men broke into the villa of a former son-in-law of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin on the French Atlantic coast in protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The three should be released from police custody on Monday, the prosecutor in Bayonne said. The men should be verbally warned, a possible measure in France for minor incidents.
The men reportedly broke into the Villa Alta Mira in Biarritz over the weekend, which is said to belong to Kirill Chamalov, an ex-son-in-law of Putin. A video of the protest posted on social media showed the premises and one of the men waving the Ukrainian flag on the villa’s balcony.
Villa in London occupied: “This property has been expropriated”
Activists have symbolically occupied a mansion in central London in protest at the slow implementation of British sanctions against Russian oligarchs. On Monday, activists unfurled a banner reading “This property has been expropriated” and Ukrainian flags on the balcony of the property linked to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.
The activists told the AFP news agency that they wanted to use the house to house Ukrainian refugees. It is not a squatting in the true sense, said one activist. “We are a front for the liberation of property.”
With the action, the participants criticized that the implementation of British sanctions against those identified by London as members of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “inner circle” was taking so long. “They say it could take up to six months to confiscate their property. That’s ridiculous,” said one activist.
The police, who were called to the property in the morning, first set up a cordon and then gained access to the villa by breaking down the door. Officials used a crane to get to the balcony of the villa.
Oligarch assets frozen
Deripaska is not listed in the UK land register as the owner of the property in the posh Belgravia area near Hyde Park. Instead, a company based in the British Virgin Islands is named as the owner.
The British government last week imposed sanctions on Deripaska and several other Russian oligarchs, including Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich. Their assets were frozen and entry bans were imposed on them.
Houses as refugee accommodation?
Meanwhile, the British government said it was “considering” housing Ukrainian refugees in houses confiscated from Russian oligarchs. Health Minister Sajid Javid had previously warned that the villas “should not be the first place” to accommodate refugees. There are many “legal hurdles”.
Great Britain was recently criticized for its refugee policy, as it only accepts people from Ukraine who already have relatives in Great Britain. A government program called “Homes for Ukraine” is now set to change this: Brits who take in refugees from Ukraine are to receive £350 (about 418 euros) a month.
Source: Nachrichten
