Half of Russian Billionaires Have Managed to Evade Sanctions
Nearly half of Russian billionaires, top executives, and their relatives have succeeded in challenging the sanctions imposed on them following the onset of the conflict in Ukraine. Most commonly, these restrictions were lifted through the courts of the EU, the UK, and Canada, as well as by severing ties with Russia, reports NewsBox.
Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, many Russian businessmen, top managers, and their families have sought to overturn the sanctions imposed by Western countries. A study by RTVI revealed that in almost 50% of instances, they were successful, especially those who had distanced themselves from Russia, changed their country of residence, or proved they weren't conducting business in the country.
The highest number of successful appeals occurred in the European Union. Among those who managed to shed their restrictions were billionaire Dmitry Pumpyansky and his family, as well as race car driver Nikita Mazepin, who was able to demonstrate his independence from his father's business.
Those who managed to have sanctions lifted through the courts included:
- Dmitry Konov (former head of SIBUR) — partially
- Vladimir Rashevsky (former head of EuroChem)
- Sergey Mndoyants (former top executive of AFK Sistema)
- Alexander Shulgin (former head of Ozon)
Sanctions were lifted not only through judicial means but also administratively. For instance, the restrictions against Arkady Volozh (former head of Yandex) were rescinded after his public anti-war statement.
In Canada and the UK, a similar trend was observed: sanctions were often lifted from former executives of state banks who had left Russia before 2022. However, prominent businessmen such as Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven faced repeated re-entries into the sanctions lists despite legal victories.
Despite these successful instances, experts believe that there will not be a mass lifting of sanctions in the near future, even with Donald Trump becoming the US President.