Tearful Testimony at U.K. Sanctions Trial of Putins Allys Wife

The spouse of a former Russian official and a close associate of President Vladimir Putin, who has been charged in the U.K. with sanction evasion, emotionally testified in a London courtroom on Wednesday, with her husband present.

Ekaterina Ovsiannikova, 47, appeared visibly distressed as she recounted to the court her fears that the travel restrictions linked to her husband Dmitrii Ovsiannikov, 48, due to his involvement in the annexation of Crimea, would damage their relationship.

Since March 18, the couple, along with Dmitrii’s brother Alexei Owsjanikow, 47, has been on trial at Southwark Crown Court, marking them as the first individuals prosecuted under the U.K.’s Russia Regulations law.

If found guilty, they could face substantial fines and up to seven years in prison, with Ovsiannikova expressing prior to her testimony that the ongoing legal matter was affecting their children.

Dmitrii Ovsiannikov, who is currently out on bail, was appointed by Putin as the governor of Sevastopol two years after Russia annexed the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. This led to the European Union imposing financial sanctions on him in 2017, sanctions that the U.K. continued even after Brexit.

Although the EU lifted its sanctions in February 2023, the U.K. sanctions remain in effect.

Dmitrii, who also held the position of Russia’s deputy minister of industry and trade, is facing seven charges regarding the violation of sanctions from February 2023 to January 2024. He is accused of establishing a British bank account that received £76,000 ($98,000) from his wife for the purpose of purchasing a vehicle.

Upon realizing his presence on the U.K. sanctions list, the bank froze the account, leading his brother Alexei to acquire the car on his behalf.

Additionally, Alexei reportedly paid over £40,000 ($51,500) in tuition fees for Dmitrii’s two youngest children to attend school in London, which prosecutors claim also constitutes a violation of the sanctions.

In August 2022, Dmitrii traveled from Russia to Turkey and applied online for a British passport, which was granted due to his father’s U.K. birth, despite the sanctions. He joined his wife and two younger children in the U.K. in February 2023.

The defense began to present its case on Wednesday, with Ovsiannikova communicating through an interpreter. Recalling the period she was in London while her husband remained in Turkey due to the travel ban, she remarked, «I thought it was the end of our relationship.»

In a statement read on Tuesday, she claimed she was unaware that her husband was subject to a U.K. asset freeze and believed he was oblivious to it as well.

«I’m truly distressed about this situation and its impact on my children,» she added.

The trial is anticipated to last approximately three weeks in total.