The UK governmnent’s planned assault on property owned by Russian oligarchs would freeze assets valued at more than £1bn and upend the market for luxury London homes.
Agents believe the sanctions and plans for more transparency over ownership will have a wider impact, by deterring the super-rich from other parts of the world, including China and the Middle East, from investing.
Meanwhile, the ability of any super-rich Russians to sell property is already constrained as agents and lawyers have started treating wealthy Russians cautiously since the invasion of Ukraine a week ago.