Chelsea FC, Steel Mills, Mansions: Tracking Russia’s U.K. Stakes

Nine of the 25 richest Russians on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index have a stake in at least one asset in Britain. And not just any old assets: the list includes entities like London’s largest private residence (after Buckingham Palace) and Chelsea and Arsenal football clubs.

Such trophies are symbolic of the appeal the U.K. has long held for ultra-rich Russians as a safe and stable place to do business and educate their children. But the U.K.’s draw is fading fast after the poisoning of a Russian ex-spy and the latest round of U.S. sanctions. The British government said it’s reviewing 700 visas granted to wealthy Russians. And using a new tool called Unexplained Wealth Orders, law enforcement can seize property if its price doesn’t square with the owner’s income.

While that’s unlikely to be the situation for a billionaire with multiple income streams, it depends on how easily the source of wealth can be traced, said James Fletcher, an asset-recovery specialist at law firm Five St. Andrew’s Hill in London. Authorities “need to think carefully about what they can reasonably work out about people’s known source of income,” he said. “If the source of money is very opaque, then they could still file an unexplained wealth order.”

Meanwhile, there’s no indication any of the nine are under investigation. A spokesman for Alisher Usmanov -- whose U.K. assets include a $100 million Surrey mansion and a stake in Arsenal -- said the billionaire has “all necessary documents” to prove they were properly obtained.