A billionaire Russian ex-arms trader sanctioned by Ukraine was able to join in the launch of a new firm in London after the war began.
App in the Air UK Ltd – a frequent flights booking app – was registered at Companies House on March 3 with oligarch Mikhail Shelkov, 51, as a major shareholder.
Yet Ukrainian president Voldodymr Zelensky had blocked the tycoon’s assets for three years in 2021.
And Mr Shelkov’s company is just one of at least 31 with a Russian in significant control formed in Britain since the war started.
That is despite Boris Johnson ’s vow to strangle Putin’s economy with tough sanctions.
Anti-money laundering campaigner Graham Barrow of the Dark Money Files said: “We wouldn’t have let Germans set up companies here in the Second World War.
“A lot of these firms are in IT. Some could be run by Russian spies.”
And Shadow Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “Urgent reform is needed to crack open dodgy shell companies propping up Putin’s Russia.”
App in the Air has offices in Seattle, Washington State and Moscow.
There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing on the part of Mr Shelkov, who has since left the company.
Mr Shelkov was previously head of the investment division of Rostec, which controlled military contractors in Russia.
