Russian oligarch Fridman moves from UK to Israel but is now in Moscow

Sanctioned Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman has left the UK and moved to Israel. He is in Moscow at the moment.

Source: RBK with reference to sources close to the oligarch

According to a source, Fridman is in Moscow at the moment. This information has been confirmed by the Alpha-Group, a Russian privately owned investment group founded by Fridman, which added that "the businessman is in Moscow at the moment and plans to visit Russia regularly [in the near future]".

Fridman was one of the first Russian oligarchs to be sanctioned after the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. On 28 February, sanctions were imposed by the EU, and in March 2022 the UK did the same.

The US imposed sanctions against Fridman in August 2023.

The sanctions were imposed against other co-owners of the Alpha-Group, Piotr Aven and German Khan, as well. One of the reasons for the sanctions was Aven’s participation in the meeting between businessmen with Russian President Putin in the Kremin on 24 February 2022, on the day of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Fridman stayed in the UK – he claimed that life under sanctions can be compared with home arrest, and the blockage of cards does not let him make even small payments, e.g. for cleaning services. Fridman has an Israeli passport but no property in this country, and no means to buy accommodation somewhere else besides London.

Background: The Ukrainian court seized all corporate rights of sanctioned Russian oligarchs Fridman, Aven and Kosogov who are closely connected to Vladimir Putin and are known to have financed the Russian aggression.

According to the sources of Ekonomichna Pravda, among the seized assets there are 100% of the Kyivstar mobile operator (controlled by these oligarchs through a Dutch company VEON Ltd.), as well as shares in other companies Kyivstar holds, mainly Ltd Helsi Ukraine.

The UK National Crime Agency (NCA) stopped the investigation of Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman’s probable sanctions after a search was conducted in his London mansion in December 2022.

Earlier, Fridman in London refused to respond to the questions of Ukrainska Pravda reporters, including whether he considers Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal, justifying it with the fact that "lawyers banned him from doing it".

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