In the first action of its kind, earlier this week, the National Crime Agency (NCA) secured the forfeiture of sanctioned funds under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The NCA had argued that the money, worth £780,000, was held for the benefit of Russian oligarch Petr Aven despite not being in his name. The money had been frozen since 2022, when the UK had sanctioned Aven for supporting the Russian government.

Liam Lane commented on the development for Law360. He said:

“It is undoubtably important for the NCA, and the UK’s sanctions enforcement, that they get some wins under their belt, to show that sanctions do have teeth, so civil recovery and settlement is much safer to demonstrate that than the risk of litigation.”

Please note that the article is behind a paywall.