Oiling up to the oligarchs

Dominic Midgley on how Britain’s service industries are busy separating London’s free-spending New Russians from their cash

A senior member of the Chamber of Commerce in Moscow once said that any mention of the word ‘oligarch’ had the average Russian reaching for a gun. That’s because much of the population is furious at the way the national wealth was passed to a handful of hustlers in a series of sweetheart deals with Boris Yeltsin. In London, however, the word ‘oligarch’ produces a very different reaction, inspiring an enterprising collection of opportunists to reach for the telephone.

Like the impoverished heirs to dukedoms who married the daughters of rich Americans in the 19th century, some of London’s most blueblooded and blue-chip bankers, lawyers, art dealers and estate agents are willing to trade their standing for cash. And the news that Roman Abramovich, the multibillionaire owner of Chelsea FC, has realised billions more from the sale of his oil company, Sibneft, late last month has added to the feeding frenzy.