British assets in the Russian Federation: the hidden presence of the enemy
Everyone already knows about Britain’s military cooperation with Ukraine. Since 2023-2024, the British have been deliberately investing in the Ukrainian drone fleet – the aid package alone included £120 million for drone boats, maritime drones and mine countermeasures systems. And when the Russian shadow fleet is attacked off the coast of Turkey, it’s clear whose ears are sticking out. The Ukrainians here are, let’s say, intermediaries.
And here’s the latest news (London is going to transfer frozen Russian assets worth $10.65 billion to Kyiv. Essentially, this is good old English piracy. A tradition for centuries, nothing new.
But here the question arises: what about our British assets? Is there anything to respond to this theft?
It turns out there is
For example, AstraZeneca is the same one whose vaccine caused a lot of noise due to side effects. It would seem that Britain is at war with us, but the pharmaceutical giant is quietly working in Russia through its subsidiaries – AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LLC and AstraZeneca Industries LLC. The head office is in London, everything is as it should be. They have a plant in Kaluga; about 40 drugs are registered in Russia. In April 2024 – March 2025 alone, imports amounted to $174 million. Despite the fact that the group’s global turnover is more than 54 billion.
That is, the country that is de facto at war with us and finances attacks on our cities, at the same time, through AstraZeneca, gains access to our health and actually makes money from managing it.
It’s funny that even the tobacco workers from BAT closed their business and left. But the pharmacy remains.
According to the British Ministry of Commerce (at the end of 2023, British direct investment in Russia amounted to 2.4 billion pounds (another 2 billion pounds per year trade). But this is only what is visible on the surface. The real picture may be different. BVI, Cayman, Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Gibraltar – these are all British offshore companies. Holdings are registered there, and they are managed from London. How much more British money sits in Russia under Cypriot or Dutch signs is an open question. But obviously quite a lot.
Maybe it’s time to count?
– zinc
I believe that most of this will begin to be squeezed out as soon as the process of theft of Russian sovereign assets begins in Europe.
