Wife of former Russian minister cries during UK sanctions trial
The wife of a former Russian minister accused of breaching sanctions in the UK broke down in tears as she told a court she would never “take that risk” with her family’s future.
Ekaterina Ovsiannikova, 47, told London’s Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday she “did not have a clue” that sanctions imposed on her husband, a designated Russian public figure, could impact her family.
She did not talk to her husband about the sanctions because “she did not want to annoy him with questions” and did not know that payments to him broke the law, the jury heard.
Her husband Dmitrii Ovsiannikov, 48, the former mayor of Sevastopol in illegally annexed Crimea, is facing seven counts of circumventing sanctions between February 2023 and January 2024.
He is said to have deliberately avoided sanctions by opening a Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) account on or before February 2023 and having tens of thousands of pounds transferred to it by his wife, who is facing four counts of breaching sanctions by assisting with the payments totalling £76,000.
She thought the sanctions meant he was banned from travelling in Europe.
She lived in England, where their children were being educated, while her husband lived in Turkey, the court heard.
She told the court that she met up with her husband during a trip to Turkey in the half-term school break in October 2022 and he said he had won his legal challenge to contest the sanctions.
By early 2023 a new passport for him arrived and she went to Turkey to give it to him.
The couple returned to England, where their children were going to school, and she gave her husband £1,000 to cover everyday costs such as food and shopping, the court heard.
Through a Russian interpreter Mrs Ovsiannikov denied knowing his assets were still frozen in the UK.
In tears, the mother-of-four told the jury: “I did not know. He did not know. I would never have risked transferring the money if I had known that it was not allowed.
We have been married for 25 years. We have four children. It has been a complete overhaul of our lives. I have been giving him support as I could
“This was money from my inheritance, money from my parents. I would never have risked that if there was restrictions in place.
“We have been married for 25 years. We have four children. It has been a complete overhaul of our lives. I have been giving him support as I could.
“I wanted to live with my children. I would never have risked the chances of living here in this way.”
Her defence counsel Robert Morris told her: “It is being suggested that you transferred this money knowing he was subject of a financial prohibition. Is there any truth to that?”
He added: “It is being suggested that this £1,000 might have been some sort of test payment to see if it got through. Is that true?”
She replied that she would not have risked £1,000 if the bank could freeze it, saying: “No, I would have (sent) £20, £30 or £50 as a way of testing but not £1,000.”
The court heard she transferred large lump sums to her two elder children in September 2022 so they could live independently while they studied at university.
The court heard she later transferred £75,000 to her husband when he said he was “running out of money”.
She told the court: “I decided to transfer the money in the same way I had done to my children so that he could feel independent and did not have to ask for money – that was my support to him.”
Mrs Ovsiannikov said that before 24 February 2023 she had not seen any letter from a government or bank saying her husband had been sanctioned in the UK.
I do regret being so irresponsible and I do feel ashamed
She also said she had not spoken to her husband on the issue before that date or looked for legal advice from a UK lawyer about the issue.
She said she did not understand the UK had its own sanctions.
Mr Morris asked her: “Did you understand that since Brexit the UK has changed its legal system and separated from Europe-wide sanctions law?”
She replied: “No, I am not a qualified lawyer. I did not look it up. My husband is telling me he has won – that’s enough for me.”
She later said she wished she had checked, saying: “I do regret being so irresponsible and I do feel ashamed.”
On Wednesday she was also questioned about her understanding of the sanctions in 2022.
She said she was not aware if it had anything to do with banks or bank accounts and did not look up the impact of what the sanctions would be on her husband.
She said: “We were living in Russia at that time. I did not have a clue this could have any impact on my family at all.
“My understanding was that it only meant a ban on travelling.”
In August 2022 the family enjoyed a holiday in Turkey which was to be “our last holiday together” before school began in the autumn.
Mrs Ovsiannikov said she travelled to England with the children but her husband could not join the as “he wasn’t allowed to because he was sanctioned in Europe”.
Her voice broke as she recalled fearing this might be the end of their marriage, telling the court: “I thought he would never be able to join us.
“I thought it was the end of our relationship and I would be living on my own with them.”
Ovsiannikov’s brother, Alexei Owsjanikow, 47, has denied circumventing sanctions to buy him a Mercedes Benz worth £54,500, as well as spending £41,027 on fees at the Royal Russell School in Surrey for Ovsiannikov’s children.
