The former mayor of Sevastopol in occupied Crimea has been arrested in London.

Dmitry Ovsyannikov, an ally of Vladimir Putin, was arrested by the National Crime Agency at his home last week on suspicion of sanctions breaches and money laundering.

He has since been charged with seven counts of circumventing sanctions and two of money laundering and will appear before Southwark crown court on Feb 20.

Mr Ovsyannikov is Russia’s former deputy minister of industry and trade and governed Sevastopol from 2017 to 2019.

He was sanctioned by Britain in 2020 and the European Union in 2017 for making public statements in support of the invasion of Crimea. 

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