The Charity Commission has recovered over £1.3 million in cash and a violin valued at £150,000 from charities linked to sanctioned Russian-born businessman Dr Vitacheslav Kantor. The funds and the instrument, made by Italian luthier Riccardo Antoniazzi in 1912, have been redistributed to other charitable causes.
Dr Kantor, 72, was designated a 'sanctioned person' under UK Russia sanctions in April 2022. He founded and funded the Kantor Foundation and Kantor Charitable Foundation, which have now been wound up following a Commission investigation. The regulator found that Dr Kantor failed to step down as a trustee after his designation, amounting to misconduct and mismanagement.
The Commission froze the charities' bank accounts and removed Dr Kantor as a trustee of the World Holocaust Forum Foundation. Interim managers were appointed to both Kantor charities, settling liabilities and distributing remaining funds via grants. In June 2023, the charities were deemed no longer viable and were dissolved.
Joshua Farbridge, head of compliance at the Charity Commission, said: 'We are pleased some good can come to other charities... Instead of assets lying dormant, we’ve been able to see a much-needed boost of over £1.3m into the sector, and a culturally significant musical instrument gifted to a charity furthering musical education.'
