In London, the court did not allow the Russian oligarch Fridman to spend more than $30 thousand on the estate and the driver

The High Court of London has prevented Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman from spending £30 000 ($34 000) a month on the upkeep of his London estate, which houses an art collection worth £44 million ($53.2 million).

This is reported by "Reuters".

Fridman sued the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) after it refused to allow him to spend $34 000 a month to prevent the demolition of the Athlone House estate. The department refused to do this, as it decided that the businessman would be able to lead his former lifestyle if he was given the opportunity to spend money on the maintenance of the estate.

Fridman also wanted to spend £1 850 ($2 200) a month on communications systems that regulate the estateʼs telephone, lighting, heating and security. Fridmanʼs lawyers argued that Athlone House was "a unique property with unique needs not least as an art collection".

Fridman also wanted to be allowed to spend money on a driver, but the court refused on the grounds that he could use public transport. Fridman later dropped the driverʼs costs from his lawsuit.

• In July, the British government allowed Russian sanctioned oligarchs to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on private cooks, drivers and domestic workers, even though their bank accounts were frozen. Money is allowed to be spent through separate licenses issued by the government. In some cases, oligarchs were allowed to spend more than a million dollars a year on living. The UK Treasury issued at least 82 licenses last year, with a significant number of applications pending.
• After the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukrain Mikhail Fridman was sanctioned by the European Union and Great Britain. He complained about the related financial restrictions. Fridman, like a number of other businessmen, challenged the sanctions, arguing that they have no effect on Putinʼs policies. In August, US sanctions were imposed on Fridman.
• The investigation revealed that more than 80 Russian oligarchs openly finance the Russian military, including Fridman. About a hundred more do it "silently".