Rocco Forte Hotels’ Russian outpost pays out bumper dividend Business The ring-fenced Russian arm of Rocco Forte Hotels has paid its shareholders a dividend worth more than £3m, despite the luxury hospitality chain being accused of bankrolling Putin’s war machine in Ukraine by maintaining operations in Russia. Astoria Hotel Joint Stock Company – the holding group for Rocco Forte Hotels’ Russian portfolio – distributed £3.2m [...]
Trade sanctions on Israeli settlements attacked as ‘performative’ Politics Trade sanctions imposed by Andy Burnham’s government on Israeli settlements in the West Bank are “performative” and could put the UK’s international standing at threat, shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat has said. On Tuesday, Ed Miliband announced the government would impose sanctions on companies and individuals who finance or help create settlements in Palestinian land, [...]
Citi hit with £5m fine for violating UK sanctions on Russia Banking Citi has been hit with a fine of nearly £5m after regulators found it violated the UK’s sanctions regime on Russia. The Wall Street giant’s London branch was found to have processed £19.7m in illicit transactions spanning 970 payments. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) ruled that, in one instance, Citi failed to freeze [...]
Donald Trump is creeping towards a shrewd sanctions policy August 4, 2026 President Trump is shifting toward a more solidly pro-Ukraine position which, while welcome, will require careful calibration to mitigate potential global trade disruptions and address corporate enablers of the Russian war effort, says Derek Grossman President Trump’s warm welcome on Tuesday to Volodymyr Zelensky, his Ukrainian counterpart, shows that he is moving, fitfully, toward a [...]
Regulator flags BDO’s ‘unacceptable’ audit issues for fifth year in a row July 22, 2026 Accountancy giant BDO has been flagged for an “unacceptable” standard of audit quality by the watchdog for a fifth year in a row. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said in its yearly audit quality report that BDO’s overall audit quality fell below expected standards and “has received unsatisfactory results from regulatory inspections” consistently for five [...]
Georgia PM’s Starmer outburst over City AM sanctions scoop June 24, 2026 The Prime Minister of Georgia has launched a bizarre attack on the UK government after City AM revealed that consumer giant P&G had axed its advertising with the country’s biggest media group – and Nestle may soon follow suit. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze described the decisions, which came in the wake of sanctions applied by [...]
Procter & Gamble axes relationship with Kremlin propaganda channel June 23, 2026 Procter & Gamble is the latest firm to cut ties with a Georgian TV channel after it was sanctioned by the UK and labelled a mouthpiece of the Russian state, City AM can reveal. The giant behind brands including Gillette and Pampers had continued to advertise with Imedi TV despite the company being flagged on [...]
Nestle launches probe over ties to sanctioned Russian propaganda channel June 22, 2026 Nestle has launched an internal investigation after it was found to have advertised on a sanctioned Georgian TV channel with ties to the Russian state.
Deutsche Bank hit with six-figure fine in UK for breaching Russia sanctions May 19, 2026 Deutsche Bank has been slapped with a six-figure fine by the Treasury’s financial sanctions body for processing payments that breached sanctions on Russia. The German multinational investment bank has been handed a £160,000 fine after it was found to have authorised two payments linked to a sanctioned Russian firm between the periods of June and [...]
Von der Leyen: Russia must pay for Ukraine’s recovery September 10, 2025 The European Commission has called for another package of sanctions against Russia with President Ursula von der Leyen saying: “This is Russia’s war, and it is Russia that should pay.” During her 2025 ‘State of the Union’ address, von der Leyen emphasised that European taxpayers should not be the only ones bearing the brunt of [...]