ACF Requests UK to Seize Assets of Chief Designer of Soyuz Plant

The Anti-Corruption Foundation has asked British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly to impose sanctions on the Soyuz plant and its chief designer Mkrtich Okroyan. This company develops engines for the Kh-22, Kh-35 and Kh-55 cruise missiles that Russia uses in the war in Ukraine.

While making money from the war in Ukraine, Okroyan's family buys assets and runs a business in Great Britain. In 2020, his daughter Anna Okroyan bought a luxurious mansion in Surrey. Its value at the time of purchase was almost £6 million.

The address of this mansion is used in the documentation of Bento Minerals Europe Limited, which belongs to members of the Okroyan family and is engaged in sales of bentonite clay. According to these documents, Mkrtich Okroyan and his wife Alla Baban are UK residents. 

At the same time, the cruise missiles that Okroyan is involved in the creation of are actively utilized in the war against Ukraine. Among other things, they are used by Putin's army to destroy residential buildings and peaceful social infrastructure. We are convinced that the Soyuz plant and its chief designer should come under British sanctions as soon as possible. We also request that sanctions be imposed on members of the Okroyan family and their company Bento Minerals Europe Limited.

This would send an important message to the Russian elite: you cannot facilitate Putin's criminal regime while continuing to do business in the UK. They and their families will be denied access to Western assets.  This would be a crucial step toward destroying the Putin regime and stopping the war it has unleashed.