Ukraine war: Russian oligarch complains about sanctions - and declares them "pointless" in the fight against Putin
Created: 03/31/2022, 09:07
By: Stephanie Munk
Western sanctions in the Ukraine war are also affecting Russian oligarchs.
Mikhail Fridman, one of the richest men in Russia, describes the consequences in an interview.
Moscow - Western sanctions as a result of the Ukraine war are not only affecting the Russian economy, but also billionaire Russian oligarchs living abroad.
At the end of February, the EU put numerous Russian multi-billionaires on a sanctions list - including, for example, Roman Abramovich, still the owner of Chelsea FC and one of the richest men in the world, who surprisingly got involved in the Ukraine-Russia negotiations on Wednesday.
After the outbreak of the Ukraine war in February, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen formulated the aim of the sanctions: Russian oligarchs should “no longer be able to freely dispose of their money”.
On the one hand, it should be made more difficult for Russian President Vladimir Putin* to finance his war against Ukraine.
On the other hand, there is probably the hope of using pressure to persuade the Russian multi-billionaires to resist Putin.
Ukraine sanctions freeze oligarch Fridman's €12 billion fortune
One of the oligarchs blacklisted by the EU is Mikhail Fridman, one of Russia's richest men with an estimated fortune of around €12 billion.
The 57-year-old is the founder of the Alfa Group, one of the largest private industrial and financial groups in Russia.
According to the “Bloomberg Billionaires Index”, he also holds shares in the German oil and gas producer Wintershall.
According to
Bloomberg
, Fridman was born and raised in the city of Lviv in western Ukraine.
He got rich before Putin came to power.
He is critical of the war in Ukraine.
According to
Bloomberg
, the day after the Russian invasion he wrote in a letter to his employees that the conflict was a "tragedy" and that war "can never be the answer".
Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman during a press conference in Moscow in 2003.
© Yuri Kochetkov/dpa
Ukraine sanctions: Russian oligarch criticizes - "You don't understand how Russia works"
The assets of the London-based businessman have been frozen throughout the EU since the sanctions, and he is not allowed to travel to EU countries.
The Bloomberg
agency
told Fridman the moment he found out about it on February 28: he was "in shock".
"I almost didn't understand what it was about."
In his opinion, the EU's sanctions against oligarchs like him are "completely pointless".
"I've never been in a government position or in a government company," Fridman said.
"If the people who are in charge in the EU think I can go to Mr Putin and tell him to stop the war and that will work, then I'm afraid we're all in big trouble," he said the oligarch to
Bloomberg
.
“Then they don't understand anything about how Russia works.
And that is dangerous for the future.”
Ukraine sanctions: Russian oligarch must renounce a life of excess
Since March 15, Fridman has not only been blacklisted by the EU, but also by Great Britain.
Since then, all of his credit cards have been useless and he hasn't been able to access his assets.
Fridman tells
the Spanish newspaper
El Pais that he is practically under house arrest in his 65-million-dollar villa in London.
"The authorities in the UK have to allocate me a certain amount so that I can take taxis and buy groceries," said the multi-billionaire.
According to the Bloomberg
report
, that appears to be around £2,500 a month.
Given the cost of living in London, this is a small amount, the oligarch says in an interview with
El Pais
: "I still don't know if it's enough to lead a normal life without excesses.
I can't even invite someone to a restaurant.
I have to eat at home." Although he was upset about this, he did not want to compare his own fate with the people of Ukraine: "My problems are really nothing compared to their problems," he is quoted as saying by
Bloomberg
.
(smu)
