School’s oligarch donor placed on UK sanctions list

THE BENEFACTOR of a London Jewish school that bears his name is on the latest list of Russian oligarchs to be sanctioned by the UK government.

Ten years ago, Eugene Shvidler gave the biggest donation to Edgware Jewish Primary School when it moved to a new home. It was renamed Beit Shvidler.

Mr Shvidler, whose net worth is estimated at £1.2 billion, was said by the government to have “close business links” with Roman Abramovich, who himself was put on the sanctions list two weeks ago.

Two jets owned by Mr Shvidler have been “indefinitely” detained, the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced on Saturday.

Posting on Twitter on Saturday, he wrote: “Since Putin began his illegal assault, I’ve held jets belonging to Eugene Shvidler under investigation for 3 weeks. Now, I am using my powers to detain them indefinitely.”

He added that “Putin’s friends” should not “enjoy luxuries” while innocent people die in Ukraine.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said last Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin “should be under no illusions — we are united with our allies and will keep tightening the screw on the Russian economy to help ensure he fails in Ukraine”.

She said: “All those sanctioned today will have their assets in the UK frozen, which means no UK citizen or company can do business with them, and individuals subject to travel bans are also prohibited from travelling to or from the UK.”

Sixty-five institutions and individuals were designated in the latest round of sanctions, among them Alfa Bank JSC, Russia’s largest bank, whose cofounders include Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven and German Khan, who were sanctioned last week.

Two jets owned by Mr Shvidler have been indefinitely detained