UK government may hand over Russian oligarchs’ seized properties to Ukrainian refugees, says Raab
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The move has been called by the Liberal Democrats and argued for in the government reportedly by the housing secretary Michael Gove. The individuals, who had faced sanctions, would not be allowed to repair their property without a licence, or rent or sell it, as per sources
UK government may hand over the seized properties of Russian elites to Ukrainian refugees.
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has made the suggestion recently while defending the UK’s response to Russian invasion of Ukraine.
On being asked whether Britain can seize properties owned by Russian oligarchs, Raab told LBC: “If we’ve got the evidence and the legal basis, then we’ll do it.”
When enquired about using these properties to house Ukrainian refugees, Raab replied: “Yes, absolutely.
The move has been called by the Liberal Democrats and argued for in the government reportedly by the housing secretary Michael Gove.
“We are looking at everything in the round, it is a team effort across government, from the foreign and defence secretary through to Michael Gove and, of course, the prime minister is driving this very hard,” Raab said.
The individuals, who had faced sanctions, would not be allowed to repair their property without a licence, or rent or sell it, as per sources.
Raab said, “There has been a running commentary that the UK has somehow been slow – we’ve not been slow. We’ve been at the vanguard of taking action and, of course, what is really important is we act in concert with our allies, European, American and other NATO allies.”
(With inputs from agencies)