Stockbroker Rene Rivkin’s former Swiss lawyer Benno Hafner appears to be a central figure in a string of offshore structures set up by Russian business figures close to President Vladimir Putin, which underline the difficulties enforcing international sanctions.

Mr Hafner came to prominence in Australia in 2003 when The Australian Financial Review revealed that he acted for the late  Rivkin in running Swiss bank accounts that held a mystery tranche of shares in Australian company Offset Alpine Printing Group.