A London property firm had its bank accounts frozen after openDemocracy revealed its ongoing links to a Russian oligarch.

Alisher Usmanov sold his stake in Curzon Square Ltd just three days before the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, amid mounting pressure on Western governments to sanction Vladimir Putin’s allies.

The billionaire was able to legally transfer the stake to his Russian business empire less than a fortnight before he was personally slapped with a “full asset freeze”.

It meant the former Arsenal shareholder could have potentially still profited from British interests, despite the sanctions against him.

Under its old name of Klaret Services (UK) Limited, the firm held a leasehold for a Grade II listed property in Mayfair, a short walk from Buckingham Palace.

Our investigation found that shares controlled by Usmanov were sold to Russia’s largest iron ore producer, Metalloinvest, which Usmanov founded in the 1990s.

The Uzbek-born billionaire still owns 49% of Metalloinvest today, via a Russian investment group called USM.

But UK sanctions initially only applied to Usmanov himself, meaning that Metalloinvest was free to control the London property.

Experts told openDemocracy that the move appeared to be a “legal way to circumvent” sanctions, explaining that Usmanov “can still receive dividends from the business as the ultimate main shareholder of Metalloinvest”.

This week, financial accounts published by Companies House revealed how UK banks took action against the property firm shortly after our investigation was published in June last year.

The accounts say: “Despite compliance by the company with the applicable regulations, its bank froze its accounts in July 2022, leaving the company unable to pay its liabilities.”

But the company itself was only placed under government sanctions in April this year – ten months after openDemocracy first revealed it could still be benefiting Usmanov.

openDemocracy has asked the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) why it took so long to take action against the firm.

Announcing the sanctions, the government described Curzon Square Ltd as “the outfit that acted as Usmanov’s London office and as leaseholder of a Grade II mansion”.

But the accounts also reveal that an appeal has already been lodged with the government to remove the sanctions, claiming that it “misrepresents the true position of the company”.

The Russian investment firm in which Usmanov owns a 49% stake has previously labelled the sanctions against him as “illegal” and “groundless”.

Last year, a spokesperson said: “Claims that Metalloinvest or Mr Usmanov himself have close ties to Vladimir Putin are completely unfounded and are false.”

They added: “Mr Usmanov and his relatives have already started to challenge the sanctions imposed on them, which they justifiably consider unfair and unsubstantiated.”

The US government has labelled him a “Putin affiliate” who is “close” to the president. “Usmanov’s Kremlin ties enrich him and enable his luxurious lifestyle,” it claimed.

The EU sanctions list also describes Usmanov as “one of Vladmir Putin’s favourite oligarchs”.

And in 2020, Usmanov himself described Putin as “the number one leader in the world today”.

In 2013, the Russian president personally awarded Usmanov the Order for Service to the Fatherland, which is Russia’s highest civil award.