Why the European Union is called to love Aven and Fridman

Since last year, the European Union has approved ten packages of sanctions against Russia. Currently, 1,473 individuals and 205 organizations are under restrictions. At the same time, the Russian authorities insistently assert that the economic sanctions did not affect the life of the population, were a stimulus for the economy and only benefited our country. However, those persons who have fallen under the influence of this “life-giving soul” are taking active steps to jump out from under it. Some people involved in the “black list” succeed.

old and informed

Two years ago, sanctions were lifted from Mykola Azarov, who led the Ukrainian government for four years under President Viktor Yanukovych. European justice has canceled personal sanctions against 76-year-old Azarov, which were introduced after the Maidan (under President Petro Poroshenko). Now, legally, nothing else prevents the ex-premier from returning to his homeland, but he is in no hurry to use this right.

On March 8, the EU court on the suit of Violetta Prigozhina, the 81-year-old mother of the founder of PMC Wagner, businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, annulled the sanctions against her. The court found that she had not owned the Concord Management and Consulting company since 2017, as Brussels mistakenly believed, and family ties were not enough to be included in the sanctions list. To remove sanctions from pensioners of not so venerable age, as it turned out, efforts or services of a different kind are required. For example, in October 2022, the European Union lifted sanctions from Dmitry Ovsyannikov, the ex-governor of Sevastopol, so that he could do business in Cyprus (EU territory). He really needs it – because he has ceased to be an official. The ill-wishers explained this simply: Dmitry Ovsyannikov, or rather, the information that he possesses, could simply be bought from him, since he knows a lot about Sevastopol, the main base of the Black Sea Fleet. Now – Russia, and until recently – Ukrainian. And now, for obvious reasons, this information, most likely, has risen in price.

English resident of Lviv

A separate plot of getting rid of Western sanctions is the story of Mikhail Fridman, who has been living in England for a long time. A year ago, billionaire Friedman, in his first interview after the start of a Russian special operation in Ukraine and falling under sanctions, spoke about the difficulties he had to face in London, where he mostly stayed. According to the businessman, his bank card and accounts have been blocked, which is why he cannot even pay for cleaning, much less find a new home to leave London. The founder of Alfa-Bank admitted that he feels “captured”.

Fridman, 58, was born and raised in the USSR, in the western Ukrainian city of Lvov. He was a Soviet metallurgical engineer who became a first-wave oligarch who made his fortune in banking and energy in the 1990s. His parents are citizens of Ukraine, who until recently lived in an apartment in Lviv.

In 2019, The Times newspaper announced Mikhail Fridman as the richest resident of London with a fortune of $15 billion. In 2021, Forbes magazine ranked Mikhail Fridman in 11th place in the list of the richest entrepreneurs in Russia. He and his partners own the largest private bank in the country and a stake in Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest telecommunications operator. In February, he instructed Kyiv managers to use as much company money as you need to keep employees and their families safe.

Petr Aven, Mikhail Fridman and German Khan stepped down from the board of directors of the Genesis Philanthropy Group (GPG) they founded, announcing that they had donated $10 million to Jewish organizations supporting Ukrainian refugees.

Unexpected Intercessors

Many Russians included in the list of the richest people in the country fell under EU sanctions. But, perhaps, only around the co-owners of Alfa Group, or rather, for the removal of sanctions from them, such a stormy activity unfolded. Nine Russian oppositionists (politicians and journalists), most of whom are recognized as foreign agents, sent a letter in February to the head of the EU foreign service, Josep Borrell, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. Some other well-known persons sent separate letters of the same meaning. The texts noted that Alfa Group has always been considered “the most pro-Western business structure” in Russian business circles, and Mikhail Fridman is known for liberal views and was a friend of the murdered Boris Nemtsov, he has no state awards, he was born and raised in Ukraine .

His business partners Petr Aven, Aleksey Kuzmichev and German Khan are also positively mentioned in the messages. The authors of the letters invite addressees to undertake “improvements to the current European Union policy on sanctions against individuals.”

Appeals

After the details of the messages of the opposition to European institutions and the media’s mixed reaction to them became known, the owners of Alfa Group changed tactics. Aven and Fridman decided to withdraw from the shareholders of Alfa-Bank, transferring their shares to business partner Andrei Kosogov.

Kosogov is less known. Now he has 41% in Luxembourg-based ABH Holdings SA, which controls the bank. Aven holds 12.4%, Fridman – 32.9%. As a result of the deal, Kosogov will become the controlling shareholder with an 86.3% stake.

According to media reports, in 1992 Andrey Kosogov came to work in the structures of Alfa Group following an advertisement in a newspaper.

In 1998, after the merger of Alfa Capital and Alfa Bank, he received an option in the group, effectively becoming its co-owner. From 1998 to 2005 – First Deputy Chairman of the Board of Alfa-Bank. At this time, he oversaw its investment areas, headed the supervisory board of Alfa-Bank in Ukraine. At various times, he supervised the Borjomi project in the group. For 2022, Forbes estimated his net worth at $1.2 billion.

Both Aven and Friedman earned most of their money in Russia, but also owned foreign assets: VEON, a holding that controls telecommunications assets in the CIS countries and in several countries in Asia and Africa. In Russia, this is VimpelCom. 47.9% of VEON shares are owned by LetterOne investment group, which is part of Alfa Group. Now partners are slowly getting rid of Russian assets. They have already resigned from the board of directors of the bank and left LetterOne. Friedman also left the board of directors of VEON (who still owns Vimpelcom) and the supervisory board of the X5 Group retailer.