The London, UK mansion of Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska was taken over by squatters on Monday, the New York Post reported.
Protestors entered the luxury home, draping it with a Ukrainian flag and a banner that said they had “liberated” the $65 million property belonging to the billionaire.
Deripaska, who is reportedly worth $4.1 billion, is one of a number of Russian oligarchs with alleged ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin who were put on a British sanctions list last week, and had their assets frozen.
One of the banners unfurled by the black clad protestors from a balcony said “This property has been liberated” while another red banner said “Putin go f*** yourself” in Russian and English.
Police said they were contacted early Monday morning about the squatters. The anarchist group Resist London claimed to be behind the stunt.
In a statement they said: “Russian oligarchs: You occupy Ukraine, we occupy you.”
Accusing Deripaska of being complicit in the invasion of Ukraine, they added: “By occupying this mansion, we want to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine, but also the people of Russia who never agreed to this madness.”
They also encouraged others to “squat oligarchs’ properties everywhere.”
Deripaska was twice banned from entering the U.S. due to worries over alleged links to organized, The Guardian reported.
He owns at least two Manhattan mansion located on the Upper East Side and in Greenwich Village but the ownership has been transferred to family members.
In 2021, the FBI raided his $4.5 million Greenwich Village house and also a 23,000 square foot mansion in Washington DC. In 2018, his Upper East Side mansion was seized when the U.S. Treasury Department froze his American assets.
On Saturday, Deripaska tweeted: “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.”