Toughen sanctions on Russia, former justice minister urges Rishi Sunak

Rishi Sunak is facing demands to toughen sanctions on Russia after a lawyer employed by a firm linked to sanctioned billionaires became involved in a High Court case in London.

The Telegraph can reveal a former lead counsel of a firm already sanctioned by the US Treasury was involved in a High Court dispute over an oligarch’s £3 billion will.

The case revolves around the will of the late Oleg Bourlakov, known as the cement king, who amassed an estimated £3 billion fortune through the energy and cement industries of post-Soviet Russia.

His widow, Loudmila Bourlakova, 72, and the couple’s two daughters, Elena, 50, who lives in Canada, and London-based Veronica, 38, are in a legal dispute over Mr Bourlakova’s will.

Also contesting the fortune are Mr Bourlakov’s sister Vera, 68, her husband Nikolai Kazakov and another relative, Semen Anufriev.

Advising Mr Kazakov “in private capacity” and seen attending hearings, both virtually and in-person was Dmitri Tchernenko, who until recently was a lead counsel for Russian litigation finance company A1.

The firm is already sanctioned in the US for operating or having operated in the financial services sector of the Russian Federation economy.

Concerns have been raised that Russia may be operating in cases in the West despite sanctions.

However, the Moscow-based lawyer concerned has told this newspaper he was acting in a “personal capacity” for the brother-in-law of Oleg Bourlakov, who died aged 72 from Covid in 2021.

It follows Mr Tchernenko resigning from A1 last month – a move he announced a day after Bloomberg Law named him in an article.

The news site reported that A1 had “actively participated in lawsuits in New York and London”, with Mr Tchernenko said to have been directing “legal strategies from Moscow”.

Mr Tchernenko, who has previously been seen in court during the dispute, went on to join a hearing for the Bourlakov case the day after he and A1 say he left the firm, on March 26.

While A1 is not under any sanctions by the UK Government, several individuals linked to its parent company Alfa Group – including two co-founders – are.

There is no suggestion Mr Tchernenko or A1 is accused of wrongdoing under current UK laws.

However Sir Robert Buckland, a former justice secretary, has called for a review into the UK’s current Russian sanctions list, which includes 2,000 individuals and organisations. Sir Robert said: “This raises questions about those who have been linked to sanctioned companies and individuals.

“I think there needs to be an urgent review to make sure our sanctions are efficient and effective in the UK.”

Bob Seely, a Tory MP who previously worked as a foreign correspondent in both the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia, said that British sanctions must mirror those of Western allies.

“We absolutely need to make sure that the sanction lists that the EU and the US have are the same as ours,” he told The Telegraph.

“Realistically, if an individual or a firm has been sanctioned in the US, we need to be asking why we are not sanctioning them ourselves.

Mr Bourlakov’s estate includes a solar-powered super yacht named Black Pearl, which is reportedly worth £150 million.

Mrs Bourlakova had gained control over assets worth billions for which she had been her husband’s nominee, it was claimed.

She had been the sole beneficiary of his will drawn up in 2004 but after his death a new will was allegedly found.

The High Court was earlier told that this second handwritten document left the entire estate to the Kazakovs.

Assets hidden from wife

Bourlakov had sought to hide assets from his wife by claiming they were invested in a business partnership with Nikolai Kazakov, it was said.

Mr Tchernenko told The Telegraph that he left A1 to “dedicate more time to my independent legal consulting work for clients, including the Kazakovs”.

He added: “Prior to this time I was engaged by Mr Kazakov in a private capacity.

“It is not unusual for lawyers in Russia to have side projects with the permission of their employers and this was one such example.”

Mr Tchernenko added: “I believe the attempts to link myself with sanctioned individuals, who I have not even ever met, are aimed at putting pressure on myself as counsel for the Kazakovs and my clients in an entrenched multi-jurisdictional dispute.”

Alexander Fayn, general director of A1,said: “A1 did not fund and is not funding Mr Kazakov.

“However, one of our former employees, Dmitri Tchernenko, has been assisting the Kazakovs in his personal capacity, separately from the matters he would work on as part of his employment.

“We agreed to this, provided it would not affect the quality of his service to A1 on existing matters.”

A representative of a UK law firm representing Mr Kazakov said Mr Tchernenko has been engaged by Mr Kazakov “in a private capacity to provide advice on limited aspects of ongoing litigation in multiple jurisdictions”.

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesman said: “We do not comment on potential future designations.”