The sanctions against me are a huge injustice

Early on the morning of 1 December 2022, 50 helmeted and body-armoured National Crime Agency officers and a media relations officer burst into Athlone House, my home in Highgate, north London. They seized telephones and computers and issued a derogatory press release. The police could not name me, but pictures of the inside of my house with police officers inside soon circulated on social media.

Raids of this kind may be familiar in repressive regimes. But I did not expect them in Britain, a perceived champion of fair play, the rule of law and a declared enemy of authoritarian governments and law enforcement agencies.

The raid was designed to enforce sanctions the British government imposed on me in March 2022, at the outbreak of the Ukraine war. The sanctions are restrictive and draconian. They have forced me to stop what I have done in Britain since 2015: creating, investing and operating businesses, providing jobs and paying taxes.