UK slaps sanctions on oligarch owner of a disused London Tube station

Britain has slapped santions on the oligarch owner of a disused London Tube station, Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced today.

Dmitry Firtash, a Ukrainian businessman with ties to Russia's Vladimir Putin, is among those being sanctioned as part of a fresh crackdown on 'dirty money'.

They also include the daughter of Angola's former president, once dubbed 'Africa's richest woman', who embezzled at least £350million.

Firtash has been accused of extracting hundreds of millions of pounds from Ukraine through corruption and his control of the country's gas distribution market.

The Foreign Office claimed he had hidden tens of millions of pounds of ill-gotten gains in the UK property market alone.

His wife Lada Firstash, who has also been sanctioned, is said to have profited from his corruption and holds UK assets on his behalf - including Brompton Road station.

The former London Underground station, which is just down the road from Harrods, was sold by the Ministry of Defence for £53million in 2014.

It was previously used by Winston Churchill during the Second World War as a secret command centre for anti-aircraft operations in the Blitz.

The disused station is also said to have been where Adolf Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess, was interrogated after he was captured in 1941. 

Firtash visited Parliament with his wife in 2013 when he was pictured shaking hands with John Bercow, who was then the Speaker of the House of Commons.

Others to have been sanctioned under the Government's fresh action include Isabel Dos Santos, the daughter of Angola's former president.

She is alleged to have systematically abused her positions at state-run companies to embezzle at least £350million.

Aivars Lembergs, one of Latvia's richest people, has also been sanctioned and is accused of abusing his political position to commit bribery and launder money.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: 'These unscrupulous individuals selfishly deprive their fellow citizens of much-needed funding for education, healthcare and infrastructure - for their own enrichment.

'I committed to taking on kleptocrats and the dirty money that empowers them when I became Foreign Secretary and these sanctions mark the first step in delivering this ambition.

'The tide is turning. The golden age of money laundering is over.'

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: 'Corruption harms societies, undermines security, and lines the pockets of criminals in the UK and across the globe.

'That's why this Government is committed to working with partners at home and abroad to prevent these criminal practices and pursue those who benefit from the flow of dirty money.

'This action signals a new chapter in our efforts to tackle the scourge of corruption wherever it occurs.'