London mansion 'linked to oligarch' occupied by squatters

UK police have arrested eight people after protesters broke into a London mansion said to be linked to a Russian oligarch.

Activists gained entry to 5 Belgrave Square - reportedly linked to Vladimir Putin supporter and industrialist Oleg Deripaska - in the early hours of Monday (UK time), the London Metropolitan Police said.

They later hung Ukrainian flags and placards from the balcony saying: "The property has been liberated".

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The protesters said on social media they had occupied the West London property to show "solidarity with the people of Ukraine".

It said it wanted to use the mansion as a refugee centre.

Police said four were arrested inside the building, and four more outside.

The protest finished overnight.

The mansion is believed to belong to the family of Mr Deripaska, one of seven Russian oligarchs slapped with sanctions by the British Government over the invasion of Ukraine, the UK Evening Standard reports.

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Plan to convert seized oligarchs' property

UK Cabinet minister Michael Gove said on Sunday that Britain wants to explore the option of using the homes and properties of sanctioned Russian individuals for humanitarian and other purposes.

When asked in an interview with the BBC if the homes of sanctioned oligarchs could be used to house Ukrainian refugees.

"There's quite a high legal bar to cross and we are not talking about permanent confiscation, but we are saying, 'You're sanctioned. You're supporting Putin. This home is here, you have no right to use or profit from it and, more than that, while you are not using or profiting from it, if we can use it in order to help others let's do that,'" Mr Gove said.

"In my view, it is the case that if your wealth and your influence is being deployed in order to support or provide comfort to Putin given what he is doing, then I'm afraid you have to bear the consequences."

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Transparency International has identified more than £1 billion ($1.8 billion) worth of UK property bought with suspicious wealth that originates in Russia.

Britain has sanctioned 800 of Russia's most "significant and high-value individuals, entities and subsidiaries," including banks, Mr Putin's inner circle, and oligarchs, according to the foreign office.

The end of Londongrad

Decades of loose regulation and courting of Russian investors, many of whom support Mr Putin, has earned the British capital the moniker of "Londongrad".

Wealthy Russians flocked to London over the past three decades after gaining entry to the UK via investor visa programs, according to a report published by the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament in 2020.

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Light-touch regulation, lucrative investment opportunities and a legal system that can be used to settle disputes helped attract the oligarchs.

Last week Britain announced a further rounds of sanctions against wealthy Russians.

They included Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner of Premier League football club Chelsea.

This week Australia has announced a new wave of sanctions targeting Russian oligarchs, key businesspeople and their family members over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

They included Mr Abramovich.

- Reported with CNN, Associated Press