Sanctioned Russian billionaire Usmanov does not own UK properties - spokesman

FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Alisher Usmanov, billionaire and founder of USM Holdings, before a meeting with Italian businessmen at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia October 24, 2018. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS

LONDON (Reuters) - Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who was sanctioned by Britain earlier this month, denies the government's claims he owns two multi-million-pound mansions in the country, his spokesman said.

The spokesman for Usmanov said on Tuesday that all his properties were transferred in 2006 into "irrevocable trusts", which normally cannot be amended after they are created.