London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Aug 03, 2025

Campaigner urges Johnson to freeze assets of thousands of Russians in UK

Campaigner urges Johnson to freeze assets of thousands of Russians in UK

Andrei Sidelnikov says he is making list of suspected Putin supporters to share with British government
A London-based anti-Putin campaigner has called on Boris Johnson to freeze the assets of thousands of Russian citizens in the UK in a bid to root out those with ties to the Kremlin.

Andrei Sidelnikov said he told the prime minister to impound the property and bank accounts of emigrants with unexplained wealth, connections with the Russian embassy in London, ties to pro-Putin oligarchs, and of those involved in organising cultural events linked to the Russian state.

Sidelnikov, a former associate of the former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko who was murdered in London in 2006, said their assets should be confiscated while corruption investigations were conducted, adding that he was compiling a list of suspected Putin supporters that would be shared with the UK government.

The opposition activist said his campaign group, Speak Up!, had founded a new project called Revenge, aimed at gathering the names of Russian emigrants who support Vladimir Putin.

“From this moment, all the people who supported this criminal regime must answer for this,” said Sidelnikov, who received political asylum in Britain in 2008 after telling officials his life would be in danger if he remained in Russia. “[If we] don’t close such doors for supporters of criminal Putin’s regime then the war will come to our homes.”

In a letter sent to Johnson after Russia invaded Ukraine last month, Sidelnikov also called on the UK government to cancel diplomatic relations with Russia, stop granting visas to Russian citizens until stricter immigration checks were put in place, and to push Nato to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

He added that British lawyers and financiers who helped corrupt Russian emigrants should face tougher legal penalties. “In the future, it must be a criminal offence to have relations with Russians who are supporting the fascist regime.”

Although the campaigner admitted there was a danger that such action could fuel Russophobia in the UK, he added: “The problem is that there are so [many] Russian citizens who supported Putin’s criminal regime. It’s very difficult to find them because it’s thousands, not 10 or 100, or 700.

“The Russian community is very angry about what I’m saying because so many of them have some links with Putin’s regime.”

Sidelnikov said that before the invasion of Ukraine he had sent the prime minister a list of 99 Russian citizens living in the UK who supported Putin.

Since the invasion, he said, more than 100 names had been added to this database, adding that his organisation would continue to gather information on allegedly corrupt Russian emigrants for the duration of the war.

“The plan is to give this not only to UK authorities, but to give this to the authorities in other countries, including the European Union and the US,” he said.

The activist said the names included people who had not been publicly identified as Putin supporters.

“We know those people who are living here and there are no sanctions on them,” he added. “They are trying to corrupt British society.”

He said a task force, consisting of the police, security services, government officials and MPs, should be established to investigate those accused of corruption.

Sidelnikov, 46, added that some emigrants in the UK were now pretending that they had never supported the Russian president.

“Some people are turning around after all the years they supported his regime, and now they’re putting on their Facebook, oh, we don’t want war, we’re not for war.”

The campaigner predicted that Russia would lose the war with Ukraine. But he expected that Putin would retain the presidency for the foreseeable future.

“There is no opposition,” Sidelnikov said. “Some of them were killed like my friend Litvinenko. A lot of my friends are in prison now. Some of them escaped from Russia.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Decline in Tourism in Majorca Amidst Ongoing Anti-Tourism Protests
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
Poland Begins Excavation at Dziemiany After New Clue to World War II‑Era Nazi Treasure
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Threatens Canada with Tariffs Over Palestinian State Recognition
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Trump Sues Murdoch in “Heavyweight Bout”: Lawsuit Over Alleged Epstein Letter Sets Stage for Courtroom Showdown
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Tariff Increases on Global Trade Partners
J.K. Rowling Limits Public Engagements Citing Safety Fears
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
×