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Russian billionaires continue to divest themselves of stakes in major companies in an attempt to get rid of international sanctions imposed on them. The latest to do so are the co-founders of the private investment and financial consortium "Alfa Group," Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven.
According to the Financial Times, Fridman and Aven have sold their stakes in Alfa Bank and "AlfaStrakhovanie." The sale was completed in 2024 as part of an agreement made a year earlier.
The buyer was a minority shareholder of Alfa Group, Andrey Kosogov. Due to the sanctions, he bought out the stakes of four of his larger partners, including 45% of the bank and 42% of the insurer owned by Fridman and Aven. The deal valued both companies at RUB 240 billion.
Kosorogov bought the shares of the other two partners, German Khan and Alexey Kuzmichev, in 2022. Thus, he is the largest shareholder in Alfa Bank and the investment conglomerate LetterOne, created by "Alfa" partners in the UK after "Rosneft" sold its stake in the oil company to TNK-BP.
Fridman and Aven are seeking to have the EU and UK sanctions lifted. Last year, the EU court lifted some of the sanctions, ruling that the bloc had not provided sufficient evidence of Fridman and Aven's involvement in the Russian government's attempts to undermine Ukraine's sovereignty. However, other sanctions remain in effect, justifying the billionaires' status as "leading businessmen...involved in the economic sector, which is a significant source of income" for the Kremlin.
OBOZ.UA also reported that Mikhail Fridman filed a lawsuit with the Hong Kong Arbitration Center against Luxembourg, demanding $16 billion in compensation for frozen assets that he believes were illegally expropriated due to EU sanctions. Fridman claims that these actions violate the 1989 investment treaty and is considering further recourse to international courts.
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