The mayor of London called for the arrest of the property of Russian oligarchs for the construction of houses for Ukrainians

Confiscation will allow the construction of more than 4 thousand buildings

London Mayor Sadiq Khan called on the British government to seize capital property owned by Russian oligarchs and sell it to finance the construction of 4 thousand houses.

The sale of Russian oligarchs’ assets, which the British capital’s mayor Sadiq Khan said was worth £1.1 billion, could finance the construction of affordable housing for Ukrainians who have moved to London.

The mayor’s announcement comes after Foreign Secretary David Cameron previously called for frozen Russian assets to be seized to help fund military aid.

The London mayor, speaking to Housing and Government Affairs Secretary Michael Gove, said he was concerned that “property ownership could be hidden through financial trust schemes.”

Sadiq Khan also called for the resumption of the family visa program for refugees from Ukraine after the government said it was closing it. The cancellation of the program was described as a “cruel move”, but the government insisted that refugees could still come to the UK under the Homes for Ukraine program.

“We need to take more decisive action. Two years ago, I put forward proposals to combat the use of the capital’s housing market as a playground for international oligarchs, and to raise funds to tackle the country’s housing crisis, which is most acutely felt here in London,” Sadiq Khan said. He added that his call is aimed at creating an effective register of beneficial owners of foreign property.

At the same time, while he welcomes the creation of a register of overseas entities who want to buy, sell or transfer property or land in the UK, he shares campaigners’ concerns “that these transparency measures do not yet sufficiently clarify overseas purchases that may facilitate such offences. such as tax evasion, as well as hiding the assets of those who will be subject to any possible sanctions regime.”

Commenting on his intention, he said that “new analysis from City Hall has found that £1.1 billion of properties identified by Transparency International in 2022 as being bought by Russians could be sold, providing sufficient funding for more than 4,000 affordable homes.” “

“As Mayor of London, I want to make it clear that they are still welcome here in our city, and I urge ministers to urgently provide the same guarantees,” Sadiq Khan concluded.