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Sunak likely unaware of decision to waive sanctions for Putin ally, says No.10

PM denies involvement in key Treasury decision while chancellor – raising questions over lack of ministerial scrutiny

By Ruby Lott-Lavigna
Sunak likely unaware of decision to waive sanctions for Putin ally, says No.10
Rishi Sunak's Treasury allowed Yevgeny Prigozhin to override sanctions and launch an aggressive legal campaign against a journalist | Russell Hart and Aleksey Smagin/Kommersant/Sipa USA/ PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo. Composite by openDemocracy
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The government has denied Rishi Sunak as chancellor was aware of Treasury officials helping the head of a murderous Russian mercenary army to circumvent UK sanctions, raising questions over why ministers weren’t scrutinising such decisions.

openDemocracy revealed yesterday that the UK government had given licence for Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the infamous Wagner army, to sidestep its own sanctions and launch a targeted legal attack on British journalist Eliot Higgins.

Today, Number 10 said there was “no political involvement” in the decision by the Office for Financial Sanctions (OFSI), a Treasury department, to waive Prigozhin’s restrictions.

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