into irrevocable trusts, and from that point on he didn t own them. but an investigation by the bbc, the guardian and the organized crime and corruption reporting project has found that the trusts holding sutton place and beechwood house have been linked to mr usmanov and one of his closest business associates. campaigners say it shows how difficult it is to establish who the owners of assets actually are when they are hidden in offshore tax havens. well, the problem is that whilst the government has introduced legislation in recent days to try and go after the suspect assets of individuals, say, linked to the kremlin or corruption cases in russia, it s going to be doing this with one hand tied behind its back because of the secrecyjurisdictions in the overseas territories and the crown dependencies. the government says sanctions are having an impact, saying mr usmanov cannot access his assets, and it is now illegal for any person or company in the uk to do business with him. andy veri
and that raises serious questions as to how the government s going to enforce its sanctions. mr usmanov has now said his assets were transferred long ago into irrevocable trusts, and from that point on he didn t own them. but an investigation by the bbc, the guardian and the organised crime and corruption reporting project has found that the trusts holding sutton place and beechwood house have been linked to mr usmanov and one of his closest business associates. campaigners say it shows how difficult it is to establish who the owners of assets actually are when they are hidden in offshore tax havens. well, the problem is that whilst the government has introduced legislation in recent days to try and go after the suspect assets of individuals, say, linked to the kremlin or corruption cases in russia, it s going to be doing this with one hand tied behind its back because of the secrecyjurisdictions in the overseas territories and the crown dependencies. the government says sanctions are