Ukraine: UK Government to re-open British Embassy in Kyiv

Press release

The British Embassy will re-open in Kyiv next week after its temporary closure.

The UK Government will shortly re-open the British Embassy in Ukraine’s capital city, Kyiv.

The Embassy was forced to temporarily close due to Russia’s full-scale and illegal invasion. A contingent of British staff remained in western Ukraine to provide humanitarian and other support.

The Prime Minister has today confirmed the Embassy is set to re-open next week, dependent on the security situation.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said:

The extraordinary fortitude and success of President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people in resisting Russian forces, means we will shortly be re-opening our British Embassy in Kyiv.

I want to pay tribute to the bravery and resilience of the Embassy team and their work throughout this period.

The British Embassy premises are currently being made secure before staff return, starting with the UK ambassador Melinda Simmons.

The UK continues to advise against all travel to Ukraine.

Published 22 April 2022



Commission opens inquiry into the Kantor Charitable Foundation as founder sanctioned

Press release

The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into, and frozen the bank account of, the Kantor Charitable Foundation, after Dr Viatcheslav Kantor was sanctioned by the UK government.

The Kantor Charitable Foundation (1173550) was registered in 2017 and is a grant-making trust, applying funds to charitable causes in England and Wales at the discretion of the trustees.

The charity’s current trustee is a corporate entity, the Kantor Trustees, of which Dr Kantor is a director.

On 6 April 2022, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office sanctioned Dr Kantor under the UK’s Russia Sanctions regime, meaning he is now subject to a full asset freeze and his name appears on the ‘UK Sanctions List’ as a designated person.

The Commission’s position is that individuals subject to UK financial sanctions cannot discharge their duties as a trustee of a charity.

The Commission opened an inquiry on 7 April 2022 to:

  1. Determine whether the charity can continue to operate and is viable following sanctions being imposed on the founder.
  2. Consider the conduct of the trustees and whether they have discharged their legal duties and responsibilities in their management and administration of the charity.

The regulator has frozen the charity’s bank account, meaning no one can access or move funds held in its account without the Commission’s prior consent.

The Commission may extend the scope of the inquiry if additional issues emerge.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

  1. The Commission has also opened an investigation into the Kantor Foundation (1173549) and the World Holocaust Forum Foundation (1194512) due to Dr Kantor’s role in them.
  2. On 6 April 2022, Dr Kantor was named by Her Majesty’s Treasury (‘HMT’) as a ‘designated person’ for the purposes of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.
  3. The effect of designation with an asset freeze by the UK government, means it is prohibited to deal with the frozen funds or economic resources, belonging to or owned, held or controlled by a designated person. It is also prohibited to make funds or economic resources available, directly or indirectly, to, or for the benefit of, a designated person. Matters relating to sanctions should be directed at the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation.
  4. It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were. Reports of previous inquiries are available on GOV.UK.
  5. The Charity Commission is the independent, non-ministerial government department that registers and regulates charities in England and Wales. Its purpose is to ensure charity can thrive and inspire trust so that people can improve lives and strengthen society.

Published 22 April 2022



Commission opens inquiry into the Kantor Foundation as founder sanctioned

Press release

The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into, and frozen the bank account of, the Kantor Foundation after Dr Viatcheslav Kantor was sanctioned by the UK government.

The Kantor Foundation (1173549) was registered in 2017 and is a grant-making trust, applying funds to charitable causes across the world at the discretion of the trustees.

The charity’s current trustee is a corporate entity, the Kantor Trustees, of which Dr Kantor is a director.

On 6 April 2022, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office sanctioned Dr Kantor under the UK’s Russia Sanctions regime, meaning he is now subject to a full asset freeze and his name appears on the ‘UK Sanctions List’ as a designated person.

The Commission’s position is that individuals subject to UK financial sanctions cannot discharge their duties as a trustee of a charity.

The Commission opened an inquiry on 7 April 2022 to:

  1. Determine whether the charity can continue to operate and is viable following sanctions being imposed on the founder.
  2. Consider the conduct of the trustees and whether they have discharged their legal duties and responsibilities in their management and administration of the charity.

The regulator has frozen the charity’s bank account, meaning that no one can access or move funds held in its account without the Commission’s prior consent.

The Commission may extend the scope of the inquiry if additional issues emerge.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

  1. The Commission has also opened an investigation into the Kantor Charitable Foundation (1173550) and the World Holocaust Forum Foundation (1194512) due to Dr Kantor’s role in them.
  2. On 6 April 2022, Dr Kantor was named by Her Majesty’s Treasury (‘HMT’) as a ‘designated person’ for the purposes of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.
  3. The effect of designation with an asset freeze by the UK government, means it is prohibited to deal with the frozen funds or economic resources, belonging to or owned, held or controlled by a designated person. It is also prohibited to make funds or economic resources available, directly or indirectly, to, or for the benefit of, a designated person. Matters relating to sanctions should be directed at the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation.
  4. It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were. Reports of previous inquiries are available on GOV.UK.
  5. The Charity Commission is the independent, non-ministerial government department that registers and regulates charities in England and Wales. Its purpose is to ensure charity can thrive and inspire trust so that people can improve lives and strengthen society.

Published 22 April 2022



Commission suspends sanctioned trustee of World Holocaust Forum Foundation

Press release

The Charity Commission has opened an inquiry into the World Holocaust Forum Foundation, after one of its trustees, Dr Viatcheslav Kantor was sanctioned by the UK government.

The Commission has already taken regulatory action to suspend Dr Kantor as a trustee and to prevent the trustees from parting with any of the charity’s property without the Commission’s prior consent.

The World Holocaust Forum Foundation (1194512), was registered in May 2021 with charitable aims to advance the education of the public in relation to the Holocaust.

On 6 April 2022, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office sanctioned Dr Kantor under the UK’s Russia Sanctions regime, meaning he is now subject to a full asset freeze and his name appears on the ‘UK Sanctions List’ as a designated person.

The Commission’s position is that individuals subject to UK financial sanctions cannot discharge their duties as a trustee of a charity.

The Commission has opened an inquiry on 13 April 2022 to:

  1. Determine whether the charity can continue to operate and is viable following sanctions being imposed on Dr Kantor;
  2. Consider the conduct of the trustees and whether they have discharged their legal duties and responsibilities in their management and administration of the charity.

The scope of the inquiry can be added to or amended if additional issues emerge.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

  1. The Commission has also opened an investigation into the Kantor Foundation (1173549) and Kantor Charitable Foundation (1173550) due to Dr Kantor’s role in them.
  2. On 6 April 2022, Dr Kantor was named by Her Majesty’s Treasury (‘HMT’) as a ‘designated person’ for the purposes of the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.
  3. The effect of designation with an asset freeze by the UK government, means it is prohibited to deal with the frozen funds or economic resources, belonging to or owned, held or controlled by a designated person. It is also prohibited to make funds or economic resources available, directly or indirectly, to, or for the benefit of, a designated person. Matters relating to sanctions should be directed at the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation.
  4. It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were. Reports of previous inquiries are available on GOV.UK.
  5. The Charity Commission is the independent, non-ministerial government department that registers and regulates charities in England and Wales. Its purpose is to ensure charity can thrive and inspire trust so that people can improve lives and strengthen society.

Published 22 April 2022



PM statement at press conference with Prime Minister Modi: 22 April 2022

My friend, Prime Minister Modi, Narendra, my khaas dost – is the phrase I wanted in Hindi

We’ve had a fantastic two days in India

And yesterday I became the first Conservative British Prime Minister to visit Gujarat, your birthplace of course, Narendra,

but, as you just said, the ancestral home of around half of all British Indians.

And I had an amazing reception – absolutely amazing– I felt like Sachin Tendulkar – my face was about as ubiquitous everywhere as Amitabh Bachchan.

I was everywhere to be seen and it was fantastic.

And this morning we’ve had wonderful talks and I think that they have strengthened our relationship in every way.

In challenging times it is very important that we – the khaas dost – get closer together

and I believe the partnership between Britain and India – one the oldest democracies – Britain is one of the oldest and India certainly the largest democracy is one of the defining friendships of our times.

What we’re doing is taking forward an ambitious ten-year roadmap for British-Indian relations, that we agreed last year.

It was great to see you at the G7.

But since then, the threats of autocratic coercion have grown even further

and it’s therefore vital that we deepen our co-operation,

including our shared interest in keeping the Indo-Pacific open and free.

So today we’ve agreed a new and expanded Defence and Security Partnership,

a decades-long commitment

that will not only forge tighter bonds between us,

but support your goal, Narendra of “Make in India”.

The UK is creating an India-specific Open General Export License,

reducing bureaucracy and slashing delivering times for defence procurement.

We’ve agreed to work together to meet new threats across land, sea, air, space and cyber, including partnering on new fighter jet technology,

maritime technologies to detect and respond to threats in the oceans.

We’re extending our partnership as science superpowers,

And building on the collaboration between Oxford/Astra-Zeneca and the Serum Institute,

which vaccinated more than a billion people against Covid, – including me – I have the Indian jab in my arm and the power of good it did me so thanks to India

And that has helped India to become what Narendra has called the pharmacy to the world.

Today we are embarking on joint initiatives on malaria vaccines,

On antimicrobial resistance, and a digital partnership between the Indian National Health Authority and our NHS.

We’re also taking big steps together on energy security, helping each other to reduce our dependence on imported hydrocarbons – and adopt cheaper, more sustainable home-grown alternatives.

We have a new offer, a new plan to develop offshore wind from the Celtic Sea to Dhanushkodi we’ve got a new UK-India Hydrogen Science and Innovation Hub,

and we’re taking forward the green grids solar power initiative that you and I began, Narendra, at COP26 in Glasgow, together with 80 other countries.

It’s an incredible fact that the sun provides enough energy every day to power the world ten thousand times over, you have a lot of solar power here in India – the sun putting in a fantastic performance today and we have quite a lot in Britain as well.

These partnerships form the superstructure of the Living Bridge that Narendra describes between our countries, and today that bridge is humming with goods and services and people and capital, whizzing back and forth east to west

and sometimes it can be hard to tell whether something is British, or Indian or frankly Brindian.

On Wednesday I went to the airport in a Range Rover – Indian-owned, but made in Britain.

And when I arrived here on Thursday, I visited JCB,

British-owned, but made in India. Exporting 60,000 every year around the word, 110 countries.

Or take the example of the Norton Motorbike now being revived in Britain by an Indian company.

I’m very pleased that this visit has not only deepened our economic partnership.

We’ve agreed new deals worth £1 billion,

and created more than 11,000 new jobs across the UK,

in everything from electric buses to the robotic surgery of Smith and Nephew which I saw yesterday

as well as in artificial intelligence, where India’s strengths are remarkable.

And perhaps most significantly for the long term, we are making full use of the freedom that we now have

to reach a Free Trade Agreement,

a deal where you can lift those tariffs – you can, India, Narendra, on our machinery and apples – actually you’ve already done it on apples so thank you for the apples

and we in turn, we can lift the tariffs on your rice and textiles.

We’ve already closed four chapters,

and today we’re announcing new measures to make it easier to export UK-made medical devices to India

and ensure mutual recognition of UK higher education qualifications.

And as the next round of talks begins here next week,

we are telling our negotiators: get it done by Diwali in October. Get it done by Diwali.

This could double our trade and investment by the end of the decade

widening that living bridge into a multi-lane motorway – pulivating with beautiful jointly made electric vehicles and creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs in both our countries.

So as India celebrates its 75th year of independence,

I am filled with optimism about the years ahead and the depth of the friendship between our countries, and the security and prosperity that our partnership can deliver for our people for generations to come.