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Some 61% of Russia’s billionaires remain untouched by the UK’s sanctions regime, including at least four with documented links to Britain through property, business interests and family connections, a Byline Times investigation has found.
The findings raise fresh questions about whether Britain’s sanctions policy is matching repeated Government promises to target the Russian elite and the financial networks supporting Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Although the UK Government announced a new package of sanctions at the G7 Summit in June, Byline Times’ analysis found that only one Russian billionaire listed by Forbes was added to the UK’s sanctions list.
Responding to the investigation, Bill Browder, chief executive of Hermitage Capital Management – whose campaign following the death of his lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in Russian custody helped drive the passage of Magnitsky-style sanctions legislation in Britain and elsewhere – said the UK’s current regime was still failing to target the Kremlin’s financial networks.
“The UK sanctions regime has made important progress, but it still falls well short of what is required to properly target the financial backbone of Vladimir Putin’s system,” Browder told Byline Times.
“Sanctions only work when they are comprehensive, coordinated, and aggressively enforced. At the moment, enforcement remains one of the weakest links.”
Of the 148 Russian billionaires identified by Forbes’ global wealth ranking, only 57 – some 39% – are currently subject to UK sanctions.
The remaining 91 tycoons include individuals linked to Scottish estates, luxury London property, UK companies and businesses accused by investigators of supporting Russia’s military-industrial base.
There are 3,355 billionaires in total on Forbes’ list around the world, meaning the 148 Russians make up 4.4% of the world’s ultra-elites. Their combined wealth is at least $643.4 billion.
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The Government has repeatedly pledged to intensify pressure on Russia’s economy. In May it announced a renewed crackdown on sanctions evasion, saying it was “ramping up pressure on Putin’s war chest” through measures targeting cryptocurrency networks and shadow financial systems. At the G7 Summit on 16 June it unveiled further sanctions targeting ships, financial networks and entities supporting Russia’s oil exports.
The threshold the Government applies when deciding which Russian billionaires face sanctions remains undisclosed, leaving open why many wealthy Russians with documented UK connections remain outside the regime.
Byline Times identified four unsanctioned billionaires whose links to Britain are particularly well documented through property, business interests or family connections. Their inclusion reflects the strength of the public evidence of those UK connections rather than any conclusion that they satisfy the statutory criteria for designation under the UK’s sanctions regime.
Vladimir Lisin
Vladimir Lisin is one of Russia’s wealthiest businessmen, with an estimated fortune of $25.5 billion built through the steel and transport industries as chairman and majority shareholder of Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK). Despite documented investigations into links between NLMK and Russia’s defence supply chain, Lisin remains outside the UK’s sanctions list.
A joint investigation by The Times, Le Temps, Disclose and Ukrainian and Russian anti-corruption organisations uncovered details of 18 contracts between NLMK and companies in Russia’s defence sector. A 2025 investigation by Ukrainska Pravda, based on leaked company records, alleged that NLMK supplied electrical steel to Russian defence manufacturers producing cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, drones and nuclear weapons systems.
Lisin also has substantial British connections. He has appeared in UK Companies House records through former directorships, while his family has been linked to an £11 million London townhouse. He previously owned Park Place in Oxfordshire, once Britain’s most expensive private home, and is reported to own the 3,000-acre Aberuchill estate in Perthshire.
In 2022, a group of NGOs submitted evidence to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) calling for Lisin to be sanctioned. It went unheeded.
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Mikhail Shelkov
Mikhail Shelkov, whose fortune is estimated at $2.8 billion, built his wealth through the titanium industry as a major shareholder in VSMPO-Avisma, one of the world’s largest titanium producers.
Investigations by Ukrainian authorities have alleged that businesses linked to Shelkov supplied titanium-containing materials to Russian companies involved in manufacturing aircraft, helicopters, tanks and cruise missiles for Russia’s defence sector.
VSMPO-Avisma has maintained long-term commercial relationships with United Aircraft Corporation, a Rostec subsidiary responsible for manufacturing Russian military aircraft, including the Su-34 fighter-bomber used in Ukraine. United Aircraft Corporation is sanctioned by the UK, US and EU.
Shelkov remains outside the sanctions list.
His British links include VSMPO-Tirus UK Ltd, the Worcestershire-based sales and distribution arm of VSMPO-Avisma, which supplies titanium products to the UK aerospace, engineering and medical sectors. The company reported an operating profit of approximately $2.14 million in 2024.
Leonid Fedun
Leonid Fedun, whose wealth is estimated at $10.3 billion, made his fortune through senior positions at oil giant Lukoil before selling his remaining shares back to the company in 2025.
Fedun was named on the United States’ Kremlin List in 2018, identifying individuals regarded as closely connected to Putin. Lukoil itself has since been sanctioned by the European Union, while the United States has threatened action against its international assets.
Fedun has significant British connections. He has been reported to own a £23 million apartment in London’s One Hyde Park, while his son, Anton Fedun, lives in Britain and owns two luxury London hotels, The Ampersand Hotel and Vintry & Mercer.
Fedun remains outside the UK’s sanctions list.
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Tatyana Kim
Tatyana Kim, founder of Russia’s largest online retailer Wildberries, has an estimated fortune of $8.1 billion.
Wildberries has reportedly sold Russian military clothing and merchandise, while the UK recently sanctioned Wildberries Bank, a financial institution associated with the company.
Kim herself remains outside Britain’s sanctions regime.
Her family has been linked to property in Surrey. Byline Times also identified apparent indications of UK corporate connections, although public records do not conclusively establish a direct link between Kim herself and those businesses.
The Foreign Office told Byline Times it does not comment on potential future sanctions designations because doing so could undermine their effectiveness.
It is understood that Britain has sanctioned more than 3,300 individuals, entities and ships under the Russia sanctions regime, including more than 480 new designations this year. The legal basis for each designation is set out in published Statements of Reasons available through the UK Sanctions List.
Byline Times contacted Vladimir Lisin, Mikhail Shelkov, Leonid Fedun and Tatyana Kim for comment. At the time of publication, none had responded.