Mansions belonging to Russian oligarchs have become an important weapon as the UK government look for ways to sanction the former Soviet Union.
Their interests in London is one area being targeted by Boris Johnson who wants to enforce sanctions on those with links to the Kremlin.
Rules have been promised which will force property owners to reveal if they have connections the Russian government after the invasion of Ukraine, while some MPs want assets to be seized.
Campaigners have warned about oligarchs buying homes in the city , through overseas companies in tax havens such as Panama or the Cayman Islands.
But MyLondon says the the scale of billionaire Russian ownership of mansions and penthouses in London has grown exponentially.
Transparency International recently estimated that more than £1.5 billion worth of UK property was bought by Russians accused of corruption or with links to the Kremlin between 2016 and 2021.
The vast majority of these homes were in London with £428 million in Westminster, £283 million in Kensington and Chelsea and £165 million in Camden.
Finding out who exactly owns these properties or where they are located can be hard, however, because they are rarely registered in the individual’s names.
However, over the years details have emerged for some of the most famous oligarchs.
Here is the most comprehensive list of Russian-owned London mansions and penthouses MyLondon has been able to assemble based on publicly available information.
Hanover Lodge, Regent's Park
Overlooking Regent’s Park and designed by famous architect John Nash, Hanover Lodge, was sold to Russian billionaire Andrey Goncharenko in 2012 for £120 million. Goncharenko is the chief executive officer Gazprom Invest Yug, a subsidiary of the Russian state energy company Gazprom which builds gas pipelines.
But it’s far from his only home in the capital.
102 Eaton Square, Belgravia
As if having a historical mansion in Regent's Park wasn't enough, Goncharenko also bought 102 Eaton Square in Belgravia. It was reported that he wanted to add a swimming pool and leisure centre as part of an expensive refurbishment.
However, in 2017 anarchist squatters got into the five-storey Grade ll-listed property through an open window and set up a homeless shelter. The Autonomous Nation of Anarchist Libertarians lasted just over a week before being evicted by bailiffs.
Beechwood House, Highgate
Nestled in the wealthy North London enclave of Highgate is the Beechwood House mansion owned by Alisher Usmanov. A former executive of another Gazprom subsidiary, Gazprom Investholding, which he led for well over a decade, Usmanov is known for holding a 30 per cent stake in Arsenal Football Club for many years.
Shortly after purchasing Beechwood House, he angered neighbours by launching plans to build a basement extension at the £48 million property with a ‘Roman Baths’ style swimming pool.
Witanhurst, Highgate
Intrigue about the ownership of the 11-acre Witanhurst estate in Highgate is so intense that it was once labelled ‘London’s most mysterious mansion’ by The New Yorker . The article’s author Ed Caesar ultimately determined that it belonged to Andrey Guryev, former head of PhosAgro, one of the largest producers of fertilizers in the world. Although a spokesperson for the billionaire described him not as the “legal owner” of Witanhurst, but a beneficiary of the company that owns the house.
The property is the largest home in London other than Buckingham Palace and was used in the 2000s for the BBC talent show Fame Academy.
Athlone House, Highgate
Another giant home located amidst the rolling hills of North London is Athlone House. It was purchased for £65 million in 2016 by Mikhail Fridman, a Ukranian-born international businessman and industrialist.
Bought in a derelict state Fridman has spent the years since he bought the home restoring it.
West Heath Road, Hampstead
A walk across Hampstead Heath will bring you to the primary residence of Andrey Yakunin the son of the former Russian railways president and old friend on Vladimir Putin, Vladimir Yakunin. Andrey became a British citizen in the mid-2010s.
Firmly embedded in North London life, his son Igor attended the local private school; Highgate School.
Acacia Road, St John’s Wood
In 2016, the Sunday Times revealed that Andrey Yakunin possessed another property in North London; a £35m mansion in St John's Wood. Details of the 8-bedroom house’s ownership were discovered after the Land Registry office published a list of 40,000 offshore companies that own nearly 100,000 UK properties.
16 Kensington Palace Gardens
Kensington Palace Gardens is known as ‘Billionaire’s Row’ with house prices averaging around £30 million . The West London street, which also contains the Russian embassy, is one of the many London addresses longtime Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich calls home.
The Russian billionaire, who served as governor of the Chukotka region of eastern Russia under Vladimir Putin, bought the property in 2011. Five years later he was granted planning permission for a £28 million renovation to add a subterranean pool and leisure facilities.
Chelsea Waterfront Penthouse
Located a short distance from Stamford Bridge is the gleaming glass towers of the Chelsea Waterfront where Abramovich purchased a three-storey penthouse. The brand new development is only partially complete but is already one of the most sought after apartment buildings.
Abramovich’s relationship with his beloved Chelsea was thrown into question shortly before the Carabao Cup Final against Liverpool, when he announced that he was placing the 'stewardship' of the club in the hands of its charitable trust. He then put the club up for sale on Wednesday (March 2).
Cheyne Walk, Chelsea
Abramovich’s existing West London property is a house on the exclusive Cheyne Walk where Sir Mick Jagger is one of the neighbours.
Locals were up in arms when shortly after buying the home the oligarch announced plans for a renovation. A two-year planning battle ended with Abramovich getting the permission he wanted for proposals for a two-storey basement extension.
Whitehall Court Penthouse
Overlooking the Ministry of Defence and just a short walk from 10 Downing Street is Whitehall Court. The grand turreted building also has views of the river Thames and its penthouse is owned by Igor Shuvalov, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister .
The iconic building has been home to some famous residents in its 150-year history including former Prime Minister William Gladstone and playwright George Bernard Shaw.
5 Belgrave Square
Belgravia has attracted the nickname the ‘oligarch quarter’ in recent years, due to the number of properties owned by wealthy people from the former Soviet Union. In the heart of the district is 5 Belgrave Square, owned by aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska.
Deripaska, along with fellow billionaire Mikhail Fridman, became the first oligarchs to break ranks with the Kremlin and call for peace in Ukraine. His house in Belgrave Square has been described as a “crash pad” after court filings revealed he barely spent more than a week or two at the home per year.
Cadogan Lane
Located on a less flashy street in Belgravia, but still with an extremely expensive price tag is Roman Rotenberg’s property on Cadogan Lane. Rotenberg is a Gazprombank vice-president and the general manager of the Russia national ice hockey team.
His father is Boris Rotenbergh, the owner of StroyGazMontazh, the largest construction company for gas pipelines and electrical power supply lines in Russia.
Boris Johnson is believed to be a close confident of Vladimir Putin, the pair having practiced judo together in their youth.
