Now let’s learn more about the oligarch’s property in the EU. Andrei Bokarev used to own a company in France called Casa Lea II Property. Prior to the full-scale invasion, the company was owned equally by the businessman and his wife Olga Syrovatskaya. On July 29, 2022, Bokarev transferred his share of the company to his three minor children. Around the same time, he divorced his wife, apparently to protect his property from sanctions. At the same time, he still signs all documents on behalf of the children as their guardian. On February 15, 2024, Olga Syrovatskaya also rewrote her part of the company equally to her three minor children. The information about this legal procedure was published in the French register in August 2024.
A similar scheme was applied to another company, SCI Serenity Capital, which owns several luxury properties, including a land at 9001 LES MARRES OUEST in Ramatuelle and land with private houses on CHEMIN DE VAL DE RIAN. There are several private houses with swimming pools here. According to the French register, in 2023 the villa was valued at over €26 million.
Andrei Bokarev is sanctioned by the United Kingdom, the United States, Ukraine, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The U.S. government has specifically cited his ties to Russian Minister of Defence Sergei Shoigu and other senior officials of the regime. However, to date, neither Bokarev nor his family are in the EU sanctions lists. While Bokarev’s companies supply components for the production of weapons used by the Russian army to kill Ukrainians, the oligarch himself is trying to hide his assets in French resorts. However, experts are convinced that even such attempts to preserve his luxurious estates and villas in Europe will not help Andrei Bokarev to escape sanctions and their consequences.
“Russian oligarch Andrei Bokarev has transferred all of his property in France to his minor children amid fears that he may soon be included in the European Union’s sanctions list. While this move appears to distance his assets from potential sanctions, the EU sanctions regimes are designed to prevent such circumvention. The EU seeks to ensure that sanctioned individuals cannot avoid restrictions by transferring assets to others, especially close family members, but rather this move immediately increases the level of vigilance on the part of European officials. Thus, if Bokarev is added to the sanctions list, his previously transferred assets may still be frozen by the EU,” explained Bohdan Veselovsky, Legal Analyst at the Economic Security Council, Doctor of Philosophy in International Law.
This story is a vivid example of how Russian oligarchs, despite sanctions, can still enjoy the benefits of the Western world, against which their country is waging a hybrid war. That is why it is critical to improve mechanisms for tracing and confiscating assets of people involved in Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine.