Russian oligarch says £50m mansion taken over by squatters is NOT his and is owned by his family

Squatters have released a video showing the inside of a Russian oligarch’s £50million Knightsbridge mansion after a seven-hour stand-off with police lead to four of the squatters who broke in being arrested. 

London’s mayor Sadiq Khan has said he was ‘surprised’ that police intervened when the squatters occupied the mansion owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, suggesting it was ‘unclear’ why officers had become involved.

The four squatters who broke in demanded the four-floor home be used to house Ukrainian refugees but were finally been removed shortly after 8pm on Monday after the seven-hour stand-off with police. 

The protesters broke into the property in Belgrave Square, west London, and declared that it ‘belongs to Ukrainian refugees’.

Police wearing riot gear used a drill to break open the front door and enter the house, with Scotland Yard declaring no protesters were inside in the afternoon.

The squatters have now shared a video taken inside the property which shows large unoccupied rooms, still fully furnished with large dining tables, bookshelves and even a grand piano.

Sadiq Khan said he was likely to bring up the way officers responded with the Metropolitan Police hierarchy after saying it was ‘unclear what the police were responding to’.

The Labour politician said he did not ‘condone’ the actions taken by the squatters but questioned whether the police move against them had been ‘proportionate’.

The squatters called themselves the London Mahknovists, after Nestor Makhno, who led an anarchist force that attempted to form a stateless society in Ukraine during the Russian Revolution of 1917-23.

They hung a Ukrainian flag and two signs which read ‘this property has been liberated’ and ‘Putin go f*** yourself’.

Speaking to LBC’s Tonight With Andrew Marr programme, Mr Khan said the police response – which included deploying a JCB crane to gain access to the mansion and cordoning off the street – ‘does raise questions’.

‘I’m unclear what the police were responding to because we know no one’s living there,’ he said.

‘But I’m not sure if there were concerns about any crimes being done to any neighbouring properties, so those are the questions.’

Asked whether he would speak to outgoing Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick about the incident, he replied: ‘Or the number two, but someone in the police service, yes.’

The mayor expressed frustration at the time taken by the UK Government to ‘seize’ property in the capital owned by people with links to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

‘We know that there are many properties owned in London by people close to Putin,’ he added.

‘One of my concerns is, we’ve had a number of weeks now to seize those homes, to allow them to be used by refugees. They haven’t.

‘I don’t condone the actions of the squatters but they’ve decided to take the law into their own hands.’

Mr Deripaska has been described as ‘a prominent Russian businessman and pro-Kremlin oligarch’ who is ‘closely associated’ with the Russian government and Mr Putin.

He was one of seven oligarchs, including Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, who was added to the UK sanctions list last week in reaction to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

His wealth is estimated to be £2.3 billion and he has a multimillion-pound property portfolio in the UK which includes the house at 5 Belgrave Square, according to a 2007 High Court judgment.

Records indicate it has not changed hands since and is owned by an offshore British Virgin Islands company. 

Riot police smashed down the door at around midday, but were left in a stand-off with activists who refused to leave.

The demonstrators taunted police officers trying to remove them in a cherry picker by sipping whisky and ice tea and singing The Time of My Life – the theme tune to Dirty Dancing.

The home belongs to the family of Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, 54, one of seven oligarchs with ties to Vladimir Putin who were sanctioned by the UK Government last week in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Today activists broke into 5 Belgrave Square, south west London, in the early hours of this morning before hanging Ukrainian flags and draping anti-Putin messages over the balconies.

One banner read ‘The property has been liberated’ while another stated ‘Putin go f**k yourself’.

Just after 8pm, the Met Police announced the four remaining activists, who were holding their ground on an outside balcony, had been arrested.

Around an hour earlier a group of supporters from outside the building tried to rush inside, but were stopped by a mob of uniformed officers who tackled them to the ground. Four people were arrested as a result, police said.

All eight arrested suspects are still in custody being questioned by police.

A spokesman for the force said: ‘Four protestors who gained entry to the balcony of a building in Belgrave Square, SW1 have come down and been arrested.

‘The four have been arrested under section 144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. A police presence will continue at the scene.

‘Police were called shortly after 1am on Monday, March 14 to a residential property in Belgrave Square. It was reported that a number of people had gained entry to the building and hung banners from upstairs windows.

‘Officers completed a search of the property and are satisfied there are no people left inside.’

Describing the arrest of four supporters outside who tried to scale the building, the spokesman added: ‘During the evening of Monday, March 14 four people were arrested after they attempted to gain access to the row of buildings where the protest was ongoing in Belgrave Square.

‘They have been arrested under section 9 of the Criminal Law Act 1977. All those arrested remain in custody.’ 

A spokesperson for Mr Deripaska said that he and his family were ‘appalled at the negligence of Britain’s justice system’ who could not remove the protestors for hours despite a heavy police presence. 

Mr Deripaska is one of seven oligarchs who were sanctioned by the UK government last week for being ‘pro-Kremlin’ and ‘closely associated’ with Putin.

Deripaska has intimate links with the British establishment, with Peter Mandelson and George Osborne previously visiting his £80million superyacht in Corfu.

At around midday, police officers wearing helmets and safety harnesses used a ladder and a JCB cherry picker to access the mansion’s balcony, with two of the protesters trying to make a barricade out of potted plants.

Officers then used a drill to break open the front door, while activists shouted, ‘Go away you losers’ and ‘you fascist scumbags’ from the balcony above.

Protestors have said they will only come down if police let them leave with no arrests, saying that there is ‘no evidence’ of burglary and they will leave peacefully with their friends.

The squatters call themselves the London Mahknovists – after Nestor Makhno, who led an anarchist force that attempted to form a stateless society in Ukraine during the Russian Revolution of 1917-1923.

At one point, two of the activists shared a drink from a single glass while one man sang: ‘I’ve had the time of my life’, from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack.

Another shouted to people looking out of the window of the building next door: ‘We are your new neighbours. We’ll come around tomorrow with some brisket.’ 

Before the police raid, three men stood on the balcony above the street, playing music, waving and dancing. 

Talking about finding housing for refugees, one said: ‘Priti Patel, do not worry. We did your job. Refugees welcome.’ 

A second man added: ‘We are planning to stay until Putin stops the war. Putin is responsible for people losing their homes and lands. Sanctions are not enough. The Government has delayed action – they are playing games.’  

Another of the squatters, who appeared to be in his early 20s, said: ‘There was no forceful entry whatsoever. We are using our human rights to protest.

‘We are here to protest the property of a Russian oligarch and a war mongerer. 

‘This government are not only acting illegally, they are acting immorally. This property belongs to Ukrainian refugees.’

Deripaska’s wealth is estimated to be £2.3 billion and he has a multimillion-pound property portfolio in the UK which, according to a 2007 High Court judgment, includes the house at 5 Belgrave Square. 

Records indicate it has not changed hands since and is owned by an offshore British Virgin Islands company. 

Answering reporters’ questions, another of the men said there are five of them inside the mansion but they have a ‘way bigger group coming’.

He continued: ‘We have opened the building to house Ukrainian refugees and refugees from all nations.’

He also said the owner of the building ‘wants to destroy Ukraine homes’.

‘He supported the wars. This home belongs to Ukrainian refugees. There are families dying. Their land has gone. This is the least we can do.’

They said the UK Government have ‘failed’ to properly respond to the invasion, adding: ‘The same money that funds the Russia war machine funds the Conservative Party.’

The group also criticised the police, comparing them to those arresting protesters in Russia.

Asked how they got into the property, one joked: ‘Squatters’ magic.’

Another laughed: ‘I swear I cannot remember a thing.’

One man said that inside the mansion ‘there are a lot of rooms. There is so much stuff that a normal human being shouldn’t have.’

Asked whether they have enough food and drink, one said: ‘This b*****d left the basement full of alcohol but left no food.

‘We have everything we need but we do not have food, so if anyone could provide us with food and we can lift it up with a rope, that would be really appreciated.’ 

5 Belgrave Square is considered to be London’s most expensive terraced house, and previously belonged to the society diarist Sir Henry ‘Chips’ Channon MP. 

It was also once home of Sir George Murray, the British Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, until he died there in 1846, and later housed the Institute of Directors. 

In 2008, a court case revealed the mansion was permanently staffed with a large domestic and security team despite Deripaska only staying a few days a year. 

The oligarch has addressed the war on his Twitter account, writing: ‘I remain committed to my belief that an immediate ceasefire and peace agreement as soon as humanly possible is the best and only solution to stop this madness in Ukraine.’ 

Oleg Deripaska has deep ties to the British establishment, and once hosted Peter Mandelson and George Osborne on his yacht in Corfu. 

As a result of the sanctions announced on Thursday, he was hit with an asset freeze and banned from any transactions with UK individuals and businesses.    

The tycoon claimed there was ‘not a single fact’ to support the measures, and suggested he could challenge them in court. 

In a blistering tweet, he wrote: ‘Since there’s not a single fact in support of Boris’ cabinet’s fantasies it will be for the courts and the police to decide the future for all in this sanctions story.’ 

Deripaska was embroiled in a 2008 row dubbed Yachtgate, after his meetings with Mr Mandelson and Mr Osborne were revealed. 

Both men met the industrialist on his yacht, with Mr Osborne accused of trying to solicit a donation for the Tory party – something he denies. 

Lord Mandelson, who was then an EU trade commissioner, stayed on the Queen K off the Greek island. 

He went on to become business secretary in Gordon Brown’s government as a Labour peer.

By the time they met Deripaska had already been targeted by the United States, which cancelled his visa in 2007. 

The Russian is believed to have a fortune of £3.2billion. Last year, Isle of Wight MP Bob Seely used Parliamentary Privilege to describe him as ‘one of President Putin’s most loyal oligarchs’. 

Deripaska, who is a grandson by marriage to the late leader of the Soviet Union Boris Yeltsin, has been sanctioned by the US since 2018 over alleged links to the Russian government, including allegations of cyber-attacks and election meddling.

He called the claims ‘a lie’, adding: ‘The idea that I am some kind of ”Kremlin operative”… is clearly idiotic nonsense.’ 

In a bitter £650million legal battle at the High Court in 2012, he was alleged to have ties to brutal organised crime gangs which emerged after the collapse of Communism in the former Soviet Union.

He vehemently denied the allegations – revealed in legal papers filed as part of the case – and counter-claimed that he was the victim of an ‘old-fashioned protection racket’ run by the Mafia-style gangs.

Deripaska said he had been forced to pay more than half a billion dollars to the gangs over seven years and had feared for his safety and that of his family.

His one time business partner, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, has been hit with the same measures – as have Rosneft chief Igor Sechin and four more described as being in Putin’s ‘inner circle’. 

After the Corfu meeting with Deripaska was revealed, Mr Osborne admitted meeting him on four occasions over the course of a weekend in the Mediterranean in August 2008. 

He insisted they had not discussed donations, which are allowed only from UK-registered voters, but later admitted the meetings were ‘a mistake’.

Mandelson also denied any wrongdoing, telling the Guardian: ‘What is important is not where you meet somebody or how long you meet them for but what you do during the meeting.

‘In my case, I offered no favours and I received no favours, unlike George Osborne, who was holding conversations around his visits in order to obtain a financial contribution to the Conservative party.’