- The UK wants to house Ukrainian refugees in sanctioned Russian oligarchs' mansions, a minister said.
- Michael Gove said oligarchs whose wealth supports President Vladimir Putin must face consequences.
- The move could open Roman Ambramovich's 70 houses worth $650 million for refugees, per The Times.
The UK government is looking at using the mansions of sanctioned Russian oligarchs to accommodate Ukrainian refugees, a minister told the BBC's Sunday Morning programme.
So far, the UK has sanctioned 11 Russian oligarchs for their close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, including Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich.
"I want to explore an option which would allow us to use the homes and properties of sanctioned individuals… for humanitarian and other purposes," Michael Gove, the UK's housing secretary, told the BBC. He added that the measures would last until the sanctions lapse.
Sanctioned Russian oligarchs can still live in their homes — they just can't sell them, BBC presenter Sophie Raeworth said. But Gove said the government wants to go further than this.
"There's quite a high legal bar to cross and we're not talking about permanent confiscation," Gove told the BBC.
"But we are saying: 'You're sanctioned, you're supporting Putin, this home is here, you have no right to use or profit from it — and more than that, while you are not using or profiting from it, if we can use it in order to help others, let's do that,'" Gove told the BBC.
He added that Russian oligarchs have to face the consequences if their wealth or influence is being deployed to support Putin.
If the UK government's measure was implemented, it would mean that Ambramovich's 70 properties worth more than $650 million would be open to housing refugees from Ukraine, The Times of London reported, including a $195 million 15-bedroom mansion in London.
Gove also said the government would give households in the UK £350 ($457) a month to people who host a refugee who fled the war in Ukraine.