Ekaterina Ovsiannikova broke down in tears at Southwark Crown Court as she insisted she “did not have a clue” that UK sanctions imposed on her husband would impact her family.
The 47-year-old wife of Dmitrii Ovsiannikov, the former mayor of Sevastopol in annexed Crimea, is facing charges of breaching UK financial sanctions after allegedly transferring £76,000 to her husband. She denies any wrongdoing, claiming she was unaware that payments to him were illegal.
Her husband, 48, stands accused of circumventing sanctions by opening a Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) account and receiving tens of thousands of pounds from her between February 2023 and January 2024.
Tearful testimony
Speaking through a Russian interpreter, Mrs Ovsiannikova wept as she told the jury:
“I did not know. He did not know. I would never have risked transferring the money if I had known that it was not allowed. This was money from my inheritance, money from my parents. I would never have risked that if there were restrictions in place.”
She explained that she had been living in England with their children while her husband remained in Turkey. According to her, he told her he had successfully challenged the sanctions and was free to use his assets.
“We have been married for 25 years. We have four children. It has been a complete overhaul of our lives. I have been giving him support as I could,” she said, adding that she would “never take that risk” if she had known the legal implications.
Payments to husband
The prosecution claims that Mrs Ovsiannikova made the payments in full knowledge that her husband was sanctioned. The jury heard that she first gave him £1,000 in early 2023 for basic living expenses before transferring a much larger sum.
Her defence counsel, Robert Morris, challenged the prosecution’s claim that the £1,000 transfer was a “test payment” to see if the money would go through unnoticed.
“It is being suggested that this £1,000 might have been some sort of test payment to see if it got through. Is that true?” he asked.
Mrs Ovsiannikova firmly denied this, replying: “No, I would have sent £20, £30 or £50 as a way of testing, but not £1,000.”
She told the court she had also transferred large sums to her two older children to help them live independently while studying at university.
However, she admitted sending £75,000 to her husband after he told her he was running out of money.
“I decided to transfer the money in the same way I had done to my children so that he could feel independent and did not have to ask for money – that was my support to him,” she explained.
Lack of understanding of UK sanctions
Mrs Ovsiannikova insisted that before 24 February 2023, she had not seen any official communication from the UK government or banks stating that her husband’s assets were frozen. She also said she had never sought legal advice on the matter.
She admitted she did not fully grasp the UK’s independent sanctions regime following Brexit, telling the court: “No, I am not a qualified lawyer. I did not look it up. My husband is telling me he has won – that’s enough for me.”
However, she expressed regret for not checking further: “I do regret being so irresponsible and I do feel ashamed.”
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Claimed misunderstanding of 2022 sanctions
The court heard that Mrs Ovsiannikova believed the sanctions against her husband only restricted his ability to travel within Europe, not his financial assets.
“We were living in Russia at that time. I did not have a clue this could have any impact on my family at all,” she said. “My understanding was that it only meant a ban on travelling.”
She recalled the family’s holiday to Turkey in August 2022, describing it as their “last holiday together” before their children returned to school. Her husband, she said, was unable to enter the UK due to the sanctions.
Her voice broke as she recalled the moment she realised their family might be permanently separated. “I thought he would never be able to join us. I thought it was the end of our relationship and I would be living on my own with them,” she told the court.
Brother also charged
The case has also drawn in Dmitrii Ovsiannikov’s brother, Alexei Owsjanikow, 47, who denies separate allegations of circumventing sanctions. Prosecutors claim he purchased a £54,500 Mercedes Benz for his brother and paid £41,027 in fees at the prestigious Royal Russell School in Surrey for Ovsiannikov’s children.
