French authorities comb racehorse owners for links to Russian oligarch money

France Galop is engaged in a two-pronged strategy to ensure that any racehorse owner or their associates with connections to sanctions on Russia has no place in racing.

The world of sport is seen as an important front in isolating those with links to Vladimir Putin's regime, while heavy economic sanctions have been put in place by the European Union, Britain and other western governments as the world reacts in horror to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Director of racing Henri Pouret said on Sunday that France Galop was assisting judicial inquiries into Russian nationals with assets in France, while the external company that holds their owners' accounts is engaged in daily sweeps to make sure that any individual newly identified for sanctions is not missed.

Pouret confirmed that no connection had yet surfaced between French racing and Russian oligarch money, but stressed the authorities would move swiftly should any emerge.

"Things can change rapidly but no objections have been raised as yet," he said.

"We have experience of this, for instance with certain owners in the North African region during the Arab Spring in 2011. Should anyone be identified then their France Galop account would be frozen."

A list of every Russian national who has an ownership agreement in France has been passed to the Police des Jeux and the Ministry of the Interior for further investigation.

In the event of an owner having their assets frozen France Galop would move to ensure no racing professional was left out of pocket, with the proceeds of any horse potentially sold by a trainer not finding their way back to any sanctioned individual.

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