Russian Propagandist's Chiswick Assets Frozen
Sergey Brilev on latest list of Putin associates to be sanctioned
Sergey Brilev and his wife Irina outside Chiswick House. Picture: Facebook
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A Russian media personality who owns a flat in a mansion block in Chiswick has had his assets frozen by the UK Government for acting as a propagandist for Vladimir Putin.
He was on a list of 14 more people associated with the regime to be sanctioned which included the Butcher of Mariupol, Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev who was responsible for the shelling of civilians both in Ukraine and Syria.
The government said that the latest list focused on 'propagandists and state media who spread lies and deceit about Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine'.
Brilev is a prominent presenter on the state-owned TV channel Rossiya who is known for his interviews with high profile political figures, including Putin and Dmitry Medvedev. He has also conducted interviews with Barack Obama, George W Bush, Tony Blair and Hugo Chavez as well as Boris Johnson and was given a British passport during his time working as a reporter in this country.
He is also a member of the Russian International Affairs Council which is presided over by the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov. The channel Rossiya has described the Ukrainian war as a “special military operation” and accused ‘Ukrainian Nazis’ of carrying out genocide in the country.
Brilev's ownership of the flat was first revealed back in 2018 by the prominent opponent of Putin, Alexei Navalny who was jailed for nine tears this month on trumped up charges of embezzlement and contempt of court.
The flat is registered which was purchased in 2017 for £700,000 is registered in his wife's name. Brilev claimed that the flat for was paid with from earnings within the UK that were fully reported to the tax authorities.
When neighbours in the same block learnt of his activities, they lobbied for it to be seized.
The government is also directly sanctioning state media organisations, targeting the Kremlin funded TV-Novosti who own RT, formerly Russia Today, and Rossiya Segodnya who control news agency Sputnik. Following Ofcom’s decision to revoke RT’s broadcasting licence, these sanctions block RT from broadcasting in the UK completely, and will prevent companies and individuals operating in the UK from doing business with Russian state propaganda vehicles RT and Sputnik.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said, "Putin’s war on Ukraine is based on a torrent of lies. Britain has helped lead the world in exposing Kremlin disinformation, and this latest batch of sanctions hits the shameless propagandists who push out Putin’s fake news and narratives.
"We will keep on going with more sanctions to ramp up the pressure on Russia and ensure Putin loses in Ukraine. Nothing and no one is off the table."
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said, "Putin’s propaganda machine has been working overdrive to spread misinformation and distract from his barbaric actions in Ukraine.
"These sanctions will target those who are complicit in covering up the Russian state’s actions. We will not hesitate to act further against individuals and organisations attempting to deceive people about this misguided war."
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March 31, 2022
