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☆ The US crackdown on Russian trade is working as Putin struggles to fund his war
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Filip De Mott | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Trade with Russia has slumped in the first quarter amid tightening US sanctions, the Financial Times said. After a December executive order bolstered its sanctioning power, the department has amplified warnings against foreign lenders that facilitate trade with Russia. At the same time, the US' crackdown has proliferated trade in the Russian ruble, as other currencies increasingly fall out of favor. That's as foreigners are still free to buy rubles on the Moscow Exchange when settling payments with Russian parties. AdvertisementStill, the ruble faces restricted convertibility, making it difficult to reach trade volumes once possible under the dollar.

Persons: —, Vladimir Potanin, That's Organizations: Financial Times, Companies, Service, US Treasury Department, United Arab Locations: Russia, China, Turkey, Ankara, United Arab Emirates, Austria, Russian, Iran, Tehran, Moscow, UAE, dirhams

☆ 18 months after Putin invaded Ukraine, Russia's sanctioned oligarchs are still rich and even less likely to stand up to him
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-09 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Russia's oligarchs are even less likely to turn on Vladimir Putin 18 months after the invasion. In the 18 months since Russia invaded Ukraine, the lives of Russian oligarchs such as Melnichenko have changed immeasurably in the face of Western sanctions. Sanctions were unleashed on Russia's billionaires as part of a wider set of economic restrictions that some hoped would inspire a revolt within the country. Russia's oligarchs have Putin to thank for their ongoing success. Revolt is possible but unlikelyIt now appears Russia's oligarchs have adapted to a new status quo where they lack political influence but still have a reliable stream of cash.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Andrey Melnichenko, Putin, Mikhail Svetlov, Melnichenko, Forbes, hasn't, Putin —, Roman Abramovich, Alisher, Alisher Usmanov, Alexei Druzhinin, Ivan Fomin, Fomin, That's, Peter Rutland, Vladimir Potanin, Potanin, Rosbank, they've, there'd, Rutland, they're, Abramovich, Michael Regan Abramovich, He's, We'll, Arkady Volozh, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin oligarch, Wagner Organizations: Putin, Service, Financial Times, United Arab, Russia's, Soviet Union, Union, Kremlin, Center for, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Forbes, Wesleyan University, Bloomberg, New York Times, London, Chelsea FC, Getty, Guardian, Street, EU Locations: Wall, Silicon, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Russia, Ukraine, Soviet, EU, Russian, Rutland, France, Thailand, Turkey

☆ Former head of FBI intelligence pleads guilty to conspiracy in connection to scheme working for sanctioned Russian oligarch
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Lauren Del Valle | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The former head of counterintelligence for the FBI’s New York field office pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of conspiracy in connection to a scheme working for a sanctioned Russian oligarch in 2021. In court on Tuesday, McGonigal answered a series of questions about the illegal scheme for Deripaska and his mental competency before District Judge Jennifer Rearden accepted his guilty plea. “Mind is clear,” he told the judge, saying he feels “great.”In court, McGonigal, 55, said he is “deeply remorseful” for his actions. “I agreed with another party to collect open source derogatory information about a Russian oligarch named Vladimir Potanin who was a business competitor of Oleg Deripaska,” he said. McGonigal now could face up to a maximum five-year term in prison for the one count he pleaded guilty to Tuesday, Rearden said in court.

Persons: Charles McGonigal, John F, Oleg Deripaska, Seth DuCharme, McGonigal, Jennifer Rearden, ”, “, Vladimir Potanin, Deripaska, Rearden Organizations: CNN, FBI’s, FBI, Emergency Economic, US, Office, Southern, of, Kennedy International Airport Locations: York, Russian, of New York, New York, Washington, Albanian, Albania, McGonigal, United States

☆ Former F.B.I. Spy Hunter Pleads Guilty to Aiding Russian Oligarch
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Michael Rothfeld | More About Michael Rothfeld | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Under the plea deal, the maximum prison term Mr. McGonigal could serve is five years, instead of the sentence of up to 20 years he might otherwise have faced. In court, Mr. McGonigal told the judge that he had known he could not legally perform services for Mr. Deripaska, who was placed on a U.S. sanctions list in 2018. The plea brings the prosecution of Mr. McGonigal, 55, in New York to a relatively speedy conclusion after fewer than seven months. agents in January at John F. Kennedy Airport upon his return from an overseas business trip. Mr. McGonigal has pleaded not guilty to those charges but is in talks to resolve them; his lawyer, Seth D. DuCharme, told the judge overseeing the Washington case that he expected to provide an update on the talks after Labor Day.

Persons: McGonigal, Deripaska, Vladimir Potanin, Potanin, John F, Seth D, DuCharme Organizations: Mr, Kennedy, Washington, Labor Locations: Cyprus, New Jersey, New York, Washington, Eastern Europe

[1/3] Charles McGonigal, a former FBI official who has been charged with working for sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, arrives at Federal Court in New York City, U.S., August 15, 2023. At the time, McGonigal pleaded not guilty to four criminal counts including sanctions violations and money laundering. McGonigal told the court he was "deeply remorseful" for his actions. U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rearden is scheduled to sentence McGonigal on Dec. 14. U.S. prosecutors charged McGonigal as they ramped up efforts to enforce sanctions on Russian officials and police their suspected enablers following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Persons: Charles McGonigal, Oleg Deripaska, Brendan McDermid, McGonigal, Vladimir Potanin, Seth DuCharme, Jennifer Rearden, Matthew Olsen, Washington, Jody Godoy, Grant McCool Organizations: FBI, Court, REUTERS, Prosecutors, Deripaska, U.S . Department of Justice's National Security Division, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Russian, New York City, U.S, New York, Manhattan, Russia, Cyprus, New Jersey, Ukraine, Nornickel

☆ Russian businessmen snapped up $40 billion worth of Western company assets at bargain-bin prices amid the corporate exodus: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Kai Xiang Teo | Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian businessmen bought the assets of 110 Western companies exiting the country at bargain-bin prices. These assets were collectively valued at 35 billion euros, or nearly $40 billion, at the end of 2022, per the report. Russian businessmen bought the assets of 110 Western companies "that have fully or partially left Russia" at bargain-bin prices, independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported on Thursday. These assets were collectively valued at 35 billion euros, or nearly $40 billion, at the end of 2022, per the report. Foreign firms also had to slash their sale prices because in December 2022, Russia started forcing those selling their assets to dispose of them at a 50% discount.

Persons: Vladimir Potanin, Potanin, Norilsk Organizations: Service, Kremlin, Novaya Gazeta, Kyiv School of Economics, Novaya Gazeta —, US, Russian, Yale University, Financial Times Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Russian, Moscow, McDonald's

☆ Exclusive: Russia's VTB may pull out of running for Yandex stake - CEO Kostin
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Maxim ShemetovMOSCOW, June 9 (Reuters) - Russian state-owned lender VTB (VTBR.MM) may pull out of the running to acquire a stake in internet giant Yandex (YNDX.O), the bank's CEO, Andrei Kostin, told Reuters, as discussions are now centered around higher prices than the bank's initial offer. Kostin said he was not sure VTB would continue with its bid. "I am not sure that we will go into Yandex," Kostin told Reuters when asked about plans. "It was announced at $7 billion recently, we submitted our application at a different price level, lower," Kostin said. VTB was hit hard with Western sanctions over Russia's actions in Ukraine, something that limits its ability to front a consortium bid, Kostin said.

Persons: Maxim Shemetov, Andrei Kostin, Kostin, –, Arkady Volozh, VTB, Vladimir Potanin, Vagit Alekperov, Guy Faulconbridge, Elena Fabrichnaya, Alexander Marrow Organizations: Moscow International Business Center, REUTERS, VTB, Reuters, Kostin, Yandex NV, Thomson Locations: Moscow, City, Russia, Maxim Shemetov MOSCOW, Yandex, Ukraine, Yandex's

☆ Russian billionaires bid for stake in Yandex's local assets -Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 19 (Reuters) - Technology company Yandex (YNDX.O) has received bids from Russian billionaires for a stake of about half of the company's local business, valuing it at over $7 billion, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. Billionaires Vladimir Potanin and Vagit Alekperov bid for at least a 51% controlling stake in Yandex's Russian business, which they value at about 560 billion roubles ($7.21 billion) to 600 billion roubles, the report said citing people familiar with the matter. The board of Yandex might discuss the bids next week when it meets in Dubai, the report added. Yandex's primary advertising competitor, Alphabet Inc's Google (GOOGL.O), stopped selling online advertising in Russia last year. The company also sold its news aggregator platform Yandex News and content recommendation service Yandex Zen to its Russian rival VK (VKCOq.L) in 2022.

Russia has 110 official billionaires in the list, up 22 from last year, according to Forbes' Russian edition, which said their total wealth increased to $505 billion from $353 billion when the 2022 list was announced. "Last year's rating results were also influenced by apocalyptic predictions about the Russian economy," Forbes said, adding that the total wealth of Russia's billionaires was $606 billion in 2021, before the war began. The price of Urals oil, the lifeblood of the Russian economy, averaged $76.09 per barrel in 2022, up from $69 in 2021. Many Russian billionaires cast Western sanctions as a clumsy, and even racist, tool. New Russian names in the Forbes list include billionaires who made their money in snacks, supermarkets, chemicals, building and pharmaceuticals, indicating that Russian domestic demand has remained strong despite the sanctions.

☆ Putin tells Russia's billionaires to put patriotism before profit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/4] Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a forum of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) in Moscow, Russia, March 16, 2023. MOSCOW, March 16 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin urged Russia's billionaires on Thursday to put patriotism before profit, telling them to invest at home to shore up the economy in the face of Western sanctions. Addressing Russia's business elite in person for the first time since the day he sent his troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year, Putin told them their role was not just to make money but to support society. Last month he told business leaders that ordinary Russians had no sympathy for the confiscation of their yachts and palaces. ECONOMY RESISTS SANCTIONSThe president said on Thursday that what he called an attempt to destroy Russia's economy with sanctions had failed.

☆ Russia's Tinkoff bank to suspend trading in euros from Feb 27
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 26 (Reuters) - Russian online bank Tinkoff, run by TCS Group Holding (TCSq.L), said on Sunday it would suspend trading in euros from Monday following the imposition of a further set of European Union sanctions. The package includes cutting off more banks, among them Tinkoff and the private Alfa-Bank, from the SWIFT global payments system. Euro trading will be suspended from Feb. 27, 2023," Tinkoff said in a statement, adding that trading in other currencies would not be affected. In a separate statement, Tinkoff said it had prepared counter-measures to the sanctions which would allow a transfer of assets to a new non-sanctioned company within three weeks. Tinkoff Bank was set up by entrepreneur Oleg Tinkov, who has become an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

[1/4] A Russian police officer stands in front of a branch of the Raiffeisen Bank in Moscow, Russia, February 27, 2016. It made a net profit of roughly 3.8 billion euros last year, thanks in large part to a 2 billion euro plus profit from its Russia business. Of UniCredit's more than 20 billion euro total revenue last year, Russia accounted for more than 1 billion euros. Meanwhile, Russian savers lodged more than 20 billion euros with the bank, which offers a place to deposit funds with fewer sanctions risks. It banned investors from so-called unfriendly countries from selling shares in banks, unless the Russian President grants an exemption.

Downing Street referred requests for comment to the business ministry, which oversees Companies House, Britain’s public registry of companies. And, in most cases, if foreign companies purchased the property before 1999 or hold UK property in a trust they don’t need to publicly disclose the beneficial owners. The Cyprus-based company, A. Corp Trustee Limited, wasn’t listed on Britain’s new property register as of Tuesday morning. A listing on the UK’s new property register for Hanley Limited identifies the beneficial owner as a Swiss company called Pomerol Capital Sa. Ravellot also wasn’t on the new property register.

WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The United States on Thursday stepped up sanctions against the Wagner Group, labeling the Russian mercenary company fighting in Ukraine as a transnational criminal organization responsible for widespread human rights abuses. The U.S. Treasury Department, as part of action targeting dozens of people and entities in an effort to degrade Russia's ability to wage the war, said it designated Wagner Group as a "significant transnational criminal organization" on Thursday. It had previously designated Wagner under its Russia and Ukraine sanctions programs. "These images were gathered in order to enable Wagner combat operations in Ukraine," Treasury said. He said the United States assesses Wagner has about 50,000 personnel deployed to Ukraine, including 40,000 convicts recruited from Russian prisons.

☆ Treasury imposes sanctions against Russian paramilitary firm Wagner Group
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Amanda Macias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

A mural praises the Russian Wagner group and its mercenaries fighting in Ukraine on March 30, 2022 in Belgrade, Serbia. The Treasury Department identified the Wagner Group, led by Putin crony Yevgeny Prigozhin, as a "significant transnational criminal organization." Joint Stock Company Terra Tech, a Russian-based technology firm, for providing space and aerial imagery to the Wagner Group. Joint Stock Company Research and Production, a Russian space company supporting Russia's military activities in Ukraine. In addition, State announced steps to impose visa restrictions on 531 members of the Russian military for their role in Ukraine.

☆ Potanin says sanctions constrain Nornickel, force it to adjust strategy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] President and Chairman of the Board of MMC Norilsk Nickel Vladimir Potanin attends a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russia June 6, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim ShemetovJan 23 (Reuters) - Nornickel boss Vladimir Potanin, one of Russia’s richest men, said on Monday that the metals giant was reworking its strategy and building closer ties with countries such as China, Turkey and Morocco because of Western sanctions on the Russian economy. We have to deal with all this," added Potanin, who is Nornickel's (GMKN.MM) chief executive and biggest shareholder, owning 36% through his Interros holding group. Potanin reiterated the view he stated soon after the war began, that Russia should not respond to sanctions by confiscating or nationalising Western assets. Potanin was placed on a U.S. sanctions list last month as part of wider measures targeting people and businesses close to President Vladimir Putin.

Potanin is estimated to be Russia's richest or second richest person thanks to his stake in metals giant Nornickel (GMKN.MM). Maksut Shadaev, the head of Russia's ministry of digital affairs, told parliament in December that around 100,000 IT specialists had left Russia in 2022. Other hawkish politicians have advocated hitting remote workers and emigres with higher taxes and stripping them of their passports and Russian assets. Potanin said Moscow badly needs remote workers including computer programmers to help its battered economy recover. "No-one is convinced these measures will work," said the doctor, who declined to be named for fear of reprisals.

☆ Putin’s Russia will look more like North Korea
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Pierre Briancon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Dec 22 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The Western sanctions that followed the invasion of Ukraine have made it impossible for Russia to import what it needs. Foreign investors are staying away, thousands of the country’s elite have emigrated, and the price of its main export has sunk. The great shut-off of its economy will accelerate in 2023, as Moscow moves closer to the North Korean economic model. The invasion of Ukraine has inflicted damage on Russia, which depends heavily on the export of oil and gas. As a result, the Russian economy will take a hit.

☆ Factbox: Who is Russian businessman Vladimir Potanin?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Dec 15 (Reuters) - Vladimir Potanin, who was placed on a U.S. sanctions list on Thursday, is one of Russia's wealthiest businessmen. - Potanin, 61, is the president and largest shareholder at Nornickel, the world's largest producer of palladium and refined nickel. In 2021 Nornickel was the world's top producer of refined nickel, used to make stainless steel and important for electric vehicle batteries. - The son of a high-ranking Soviet trade official, Potanin was educated at Moscow’s elite diplomatic academy. - Potanin has taken care to stay on the right side of President Vladimir Putin, for instance by accepting a $2 billion fine after Nornickel angered the president by causing Russia's biggest Arctic oil spill two years ago.

☆ U.S. Sanctions Russia’s Rosbank, Subsidiaries of VTB
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( David Smagalla | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

The U.S. government has sanctioned Russian lender Rosbank and has expanded sanctions against VTB, one of the country’s largest banks, in a move to further limit the Russian government’s efforts to fund its war in Ukraine. The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Thursday announced sanctions against 17 subsidiaries of VTB, building on sanctions placed on the parent company in February, after Russia invaded Ukraine. The Treasury cited the importance of Rosbank to the Russian government, given that the lender is considered a “systemically important credit institution” in the country. The U.S. sanctions follow similar sanctions of Rosbank by the U.K. and Canada earlier this year. Nornickel wasn’t included in the State Department’s sanctions package.

☆ U.S. sanctions Russian oligarch Potanin and Rosbank -Treasury Dept. website
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - The United States imposed sanctions on one of Russia's richest men, Vladimir Potanin, and Russian commercia bank Rosbank, according to the Treasury Department website. Rosbank was purchased earlier this year by Interros, an investment holding company Potanin controls. Reporting by Doina Chiacu;Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russian Oligarch Vladimir Potanin, Nornickel Shareholder, Faces U.S. Sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Vivian Salama | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—The U.S. is moving to impose sanctions on one of Russia’s wealthiest men, Vladimir Potanin , as well as on some of his financial companies, U.S. officials said, as Washington looks for ways to further clamp down on Russia amid the war in Ukraine. The action, which could be announced as early as Thursday, is expected to include sanctions against Mr. Potanin, his wife Ekaterina Potanina and a yacht he owns, these officials said. Also on the list, according to these officials: Interros, an investment holding company Mr. Potanin controls, and Rosbank, which Interros bought from Société Générale SA earlier this year.

☆ Tinkov renounces citizenship of 'fascist' Russia over Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Serial entrepreneur Oleg Tinkov has renounced his Russian citizenship, saying he does not want to be associated with “fascism” or people who collaborate with “killers.”In an Instagram post published on Tuesday, the 54-year-old founder of Tinkoff Bank wrote: “I decided to renounce my Russian citizenship after Russia invasion of independent Ukraine. He was forced to sell his 35% stake in TCS, Tinkoff Bank’s parent, to Russian metals magnate Vladimir Potanin in April, following a string of anti-war comments. “I hate when my brand/name is associated with the bank that collaborates with killers and blood.”Oleg Tinkov. Before he sold his stake, Britain imposed sanctions on Tinkov, saying he was “receiving benefits from the Russian government” through his stake in a systemically important company. Tinkoff previously held U.S. citizenship, but renounced that around the time Tinkoff Bank went public in 2013 in what Washington said was an attempt to avoid tax liabilities.

London/Hong Kong CNN Business —Oleg Tinkov, the founder of a major Russian digital bank, has renounced his Russian citizenship in protest over the war in Ukraine. “I have taken the decision to exit my Russian citizenship,” Tinkov announced in a post on Instagram on Monday alongside a photo of a certificate confirming his decision, dated October 26. The post has since been taken down, but photos of it have been circulated on social media and reported by Russian state media. Tinkov, who founded Tinkoff Bank in 2006, earlier this year blasted Russia’s “insane war” in Ukraine. Nikolay Storonsky, the co-founder and CEO of Revolut, renounced his Russian citizenship earlier this year, the British company said Tuesday, confirming a report in The Telegraph.

☆ Entrepreneur Tinkov renounces Russian citizenship over Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In an Instagram post published on Tuesday, the 54-year-old founder of Tinkoff Bank wrote: "I decided to renounce my Russian citizenship after Russia invasion of independent Ukraine. He was forced to sell his 35% stake in TCS, Tinkoff Bank's parent, to Russian metals magnate Vladimir Potanin in April, following a string of anti-war comments. Tinkov said an original Instagram post published on Monday, with a picture of a certificate renouncing his citizenship as of Oct. 26, had "mysteriously disappeared". Before he sold his stake, Britain imposed sanctions on Tinkov, saying he was "receiving benefits from the Russian government" through his stake in a systemically important company. Tinkoff previously held U.S. citizenship, but renounced that around the time Tinkoff Bank went public in 2013 in what Washington said was an attempt to avoid tax liabilities.

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