British government pressed for answers on Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour

The British government has been asked to reveal what steps it has taken to investigate whether Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour assisted wealthy Russians it has sanctioned in moving their assets to the United Arab Emirates.

Lawyers acting on behalf of a Ukrainian activist – who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals from Russia – have written to British foreign Secretary James Cleverly to ask whether investigations have been carried out to determine whether Mansour, the UAE’s Deputy prime minister, should be identified as a ‘designated person’ subject to financial sanctions under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.

As of last week, the UK government said more than 1,800 individuals had been sanctioned under the regulations, with more than 1,600 of those sanctioned since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

That number includes former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich. His assets, including Chelsea, were frozen, with a consortium led by American businessman Todd Boehly taking over the Premier League club last summer.

The request for an update on Sheikh Mansour follows an initial letter from the lawyers, Rhys Davies of Temple Garden Chambers and Ben Keith from 5, St Andrew’s Hill Chambers, on behalf of their client which was sent to Cleverly in September last year.

The foreign Secretary can only designate a person if he has reasonable grounds to suspect that the individual is “an involved person” in the destabilisation of Ukraine.

Involvement is defined as someone who is responsible for, engages in, provides support for, or promotes any policy or action which destabilises Ukraine or undermines or threatens its territorial integrity.

If Sheikh Mansour was designated as an