Revealed: the properties in Newcastle owned by people based in Russia

There are three properties in Newcastle owned by people based in Russia, figures show.

The Centre for Public Data obtained figures on overseas ownership from the Land Registry using Freedom of Information laws.

In total, there are 1,127 properties across England and Wales registered to individuals with a correspondence address in Russia.

Three of those are right here in Newcastle, which ranks the council owner at the 59th highest in the country out of 132.

There are more Russian-owned properties just over the river on South Tyneside.

There are six properties owned by people based in the country in South Tyneside, ranking the council area at 40th.

It's the highest number of properties in a council area across the North East, joint with Durham.

The City of Westminster has the most property owned by Russia-based individuals, at 87.

This is followed by Liverpool, with 72, and Tandridge in Surrey, with 57.

The number of properties across England and Wales owned by individuals in Russia has rocketed in recent years, increasing 13-fold between January 2010 and August 2021.

There is no suggestion that any of these people have links to the Putin regime.

But the war in Ukraine has brought renewed focus on Russian-owned property and other assets in Britain.

The UK government this week announced it was freezing the assets of seven oligarchs, including Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich.

It has forced a halt to Abramovich’s attempts to sell the club. He had said proceeds from the sale would be donated to victims of the war.

A further group of Russia-based oligarchs close to Putin have also been placed under sanction.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “Today’s sanctions show once again that oligarchs and kleptocrats have no place in our economy or society. With their close links to Putin they are complicit in his aggression.

“The blood of the Ukrainian people is on their hands. They should hang their heads in shame.

“Our support for Ukraine will not waver. We will not stop in this mission to ramp up the pressure on the Putin regime and choke off funds to his brutal war machine.”

Opposition leader Keir Starmer had been among those pushing for further sanctions, saying: “For too long our country has been a safe-haven for the money that Putin and his fellow bandits stole from the Russian people.”