The trial of the ex-governor of Sevastopol and his family has begun in the UK

The former governor of Sevastopol (2016-2019) Dmitry Ovsyannikov will appear in court in London on charges of violating the sanctions regime, Bloomberg reports.

Ovsyannikov, his wife Ekaterina and brother Alexei are accused of buying a Mercedes Benz car and paying "thousands of pounds sterling" for the education of children at a private school despite the restrictions imposed, prosecutors said on the first day of the court hearings.

The ex-governor was under the sanctions of the European Union, the United States and UK from 2017 to 2022. However, in 2022, the European Court of Justice annulled the decisions of the Council of the European Union over the past two years to extend sanctions against him. The court considered insufficient evidence of the former official's links with the Russian authorities and "destabilizing influence on Ukraine" after the resignation.

At the same time, Britain extended sanctions restrictions on Ovsyannikov in 2022. The prosecution said that in January 2023, he was issued a British passport, although he was still under sanctions. According to Bloomberg, Ovsyannikov provided false information to open a bank account, where his wife transferred a total of £76 thousand a few days after the former official arrived in Britain in February of the same year.

When the account was frozen, his brother bought a car for £ 54 thousand, which, according to the prosecutor's office, Ovsyannikov himself used. Later, the British authorities allowed the latter to pay living expenses in the amount of £ 3 thousand per month.

Ovsyannikov, his wife and brother pleaded not guilty and stated that they either did not know about the sanctions imposed on him, or did not know that he could not receive financial assistance, prosecutors said.

"It is inconceivable that this information was unknown to his wife and brother. Any statements to the contrary by any of the defendants are simply unbelievable," said prosecution lawyer Paul Jarvis.

Ovsyannikov was detained on January 22 last year at his London home on suspicion of violating the sanctions regime and money laundering. The Times, citing the National Crime Agency (NCA), wrote that there were £65 thousand ($ 82.5 thousand) in his account at one of the banks of the HBOS financial group, and £77.5 thousand ($ 98.5 thousand) in cash was also seized from him. A month later, Ovsyannikov was released from custody on bail.

Ovsyannikov was the governor of Sevastopol in 2016-2019. He left this post "of his own accord." In October 2019, Ovsyannikov became deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. However, in the spring of 2020, the official lost this post after a scandal in Izhevsk, where he reacted with foul language to a check at the airport before takeoff. After that, Ovsyannikov left the civil service and began entrepreneurial activity, including in Cyprus, RBC reminds.