Former traitor MP Vladimir Saldo was able to open a company in the UK despite the fact that sanctions have long been imposed against him. The notorious collaborator from Kherson is listed in British documents as the owner of a firm registered in November, five months after he was placed on the sanctions list..

The Guardian writes about this, recalling that the UK government has identified economic pressure as a central part of its attempts to stop Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine.. Proposals have been made in the country to make it a crime to open companies for people under sanctions. But more than a year after the start of the Russian invasion, such initiatives still have not become law..

In June 2022, the government froze all of Saldo's assets in the UK and banned him from entering the country.. British authorities accuse him of " However, since November, he has been considered the owner of a British company with an address in the Hatton Garden area in central London..

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British corporate registry Companies House does not require proof of identity when people set up companies. Saldo did not respond to a question about his involvement with Grainholding Ltd.. But his entry in the sanctions list was updated after the registration of Grainholding to take into account data from the company's registration documents..

“This indicates that the British authorities knew about its existence and considered the documents to be authentic,” the newspaper writes..

A government spokesman declined to say if any action had been taken against Grainholding, which remains on the list of active companies..

Is this company making money We do not know. Does she have a UK bank account? We do not know. Are law enforcement aware of this We do not know. And did they freeze this asset? We don't know this either.. This system is a mess from start to finish,” said Labor MP Margaret Hodge, who advocates increased sanctions..

The company documents indicate that the capital of Grainholding is one million pounds sterling, half of the shares belong to Saldo, and the rest to another citizen of Ukraine. The Guardian recalls that the 60-year-old collaborator was the mayor of Kherson for 10 years, and then in 2012 became a deputy of the Verkhovna Rada from the party of the fugitive pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych. Saldo's political career later declined.. In 2016, he was accused of collaborating with Russian intelligence, but no charges were filed..

When Russian troops broke into Ukraine in February 2022, Kherson fell under occupation. The city became part of the " A few weeks later, Saldo was appointed head of the " The Guardian writes that he led a large-scale Russian looting.

Personal business interests of the Balance range from construction to the production of yoga sets.. An entry in the official UK register of Grainholding suggests that it may have expanded its operations through the lucrative trade in Ukrainian agricultural commodities..

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This month, Saldo traveled to Moscow for an audience with Putin in the Kremlin.. According to the official transcript of their meeting, Saldo asked for help with gas supplies and about $300 million to build a warehouse to supply vegetables from the Kherson region to Russia..

The Guardian writes that the fact of opening a company in the name of a sanctioned collaborator raises broader questions about the lack of oversight of UK companies.. Shortly before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Graham Biggar, then head of the National Crime Agency's economic crime division, testified to members of parliament about the so-called methods of " He said that about 50% of such money is laundered through British corporate structures..

British companies have been used in 52 of the biggest corruption and money laundering schemes found worldwide, which together generated around ?80bn of illicit wealth, Transparency International found in 2017.

The control at the Companies House is so weak that the registration documents alone cannot be evidence that Saldo really established Grainholding.. The government proposed to oblige people who create companies to confirm their identity. But since these proposals have not yet been accepted, the owners of the new enterprise are not required to prove that they are who they say they are..

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Grainholding has nothing to do with the Hatton Garden office building listed as its address on the registration documents, a spokeswoman for the building's management company told The Guardian.. The corporate services firm reported the unauthorized use of its address to Companies House shortly after Grainholding appeared on the registry in November, she said.. It wasn't until five months later, when The Guardian began sending inquiries in April, that the address was changed on the public register..