Russian oligarch evaded sanctions in UK crypto firm share sell-off, report
A sanctioned Russian oligarch who sold £15 million of shares in a crypto firm chaired by the former UK chancellor, is believed to have had the funds transferred into cryptocurrency in an attempt to avoid breaching US sanctions, The Guardian reports. Mikhail Kly UK in owned 2% of share s in the crypto infrastructure firm Copper Technologies before selling it in May 2022 for £15 million. The Guardian understands that Copper acted as an intermediary, converting the buyer’s sterling into cryptocurrency before forwarding it to Klyukin. It reports that the sale looks to have been designed to skirt US sanctions, which outlaw the use of dollars or the involvement of US citizens in financial dealings with sanctioned individuals. Hundreds of Russian elites, including Klyukin, were sanctioned by the US in March 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine. Klyukin was previously on the supervisory board of Sovcombank , a Russian private bank ranking ninth in held assets. For crypto and Ru...