The European Union and the United States have imposed sanctions on a long list of super-rich Russians believed to be close to Vladimir Putin — from former KGB colleagues to the godfather of the president’s eldest daughter
The word oligarch has gained a lot of traction in the past few days with the European Union and the United States imposing sanctions on 26 of Russia’s most uber-rich men in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
On Monday, the European Union announced that they would be imposing sanctions on several of the country’s highest-profile oligarchs.
This action came after the US announced similar sanctions on them, with Secretary of the Treasury Janet L Yellen saying the sanctions were meant to “degrade Russia’s ability to project power and threaten the peace and stability of Europe” by cutting off access to the broader international economy.
Who are these oligarchs, what power do they yield in Russia, what will be the effect of these sanctions? We try to answer these questions and also look at some notable oligarchs who have broken rank and called for peace.
Sergei Sergeevich Ivanov, son of Sergei Borisovich Ivanov
Sergei Borisovich Ivanov is Russia’s special presidential representative for Environmental Protection, Ecology, and Transport. He has close ties to Vladimir Putin as both of them were colleagues during their KGB days. He also served as Putin’s Chief of Staff from 2011 to 2016.
His son Sergei Sergeevich Ivanov runs Alrosa, a government-backed diamond mining company that accounts for 28 per cent of the world’s diamond mining capacity.
Sergei Sergeevich Ivanov is also a board member of Gazprombank, which is Russia’s third biggest financial institution.
Andrey Patrushev, son of Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev
Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev is also a former KGB colleague of Vladimir Putin’s and also served as the head of the Federal Security Service, the main successor agency to the Soviet Union’s KGB.
This isn’t the first time that Nikolai Patrushev has been hit by sanctions; he was hit by sanctions in 2018 too.
Nikolai Patrushev gained popularity in 2006 when he was implicated in the London radiation poisoning of defector Alexander Litvinenko.
His son, Andrey, was appointed in 2019 as the CEO of Gazprom Neft, Russia’s third-largest oil producer.
File image of Russian president Vladimir Putin presenting a medal to Russian cellist Sergei Roldugin during an awarding ceremony at the Kremlin. AFP
Sergei Roldugin
The 71-year-old former principal cellist of the Kirov Opera Theatre’s orchestra is one of 26 businessmen, officials and military figures who have been added to the EU’s expanding sanctions list.
Interestingly, he is also godfather to Vladimir Putin’s eldest daughter, Maria.
The legal text approved by EU foreign ministers on Monday evening, read: “Mr Roldugin is a businessman with close ties to Vladimir Putin. He is part of Putin’s network financial scheme. He owns at least 5 offshore entities and he keeps his assets at Bank Rossiya (sanctioned by the Union), known in Moscow as ‘Putin’s wallet’.
“According to the investigation of the ICIJ, Mr Roldugin is responsible for ‘shuffling’ at least $2 billion through banks and offshore companies as a part of Putin’s hidden financial network.
“He also took part in ‘Troika Laundromat’, and he funnelled billions of dollars through the system. Moreover, he received more than $69 million through companies within the ‘Troika Laundromat.'”
File image of Vladimir Putin with Igor Sechin (R), chief executive officer and chairman of the management board and deputy chairman of the board of directors of Russian energy company Rosneft. AFP
Igor Sechin
Igor Sechin is currently the CEO of state oil company Rosneft and a former deputy head of Putin’s administration who has worked with the Russian leader since the 1990s.
According to Business Insider, the oil baron has been called the second most powerful man in Russia, after Putin.
In 2011, Reuters reported that it was Sechin who helped secure a $16 billion deal with BP, which gave the Russian company a 5 per cent stake in the British oil company.
His son is reportedly a deputy head of a department at Rosneft.
Alexander Aleksandrovich Vedyakhin
Vedyakhin currently serves as first deputy chairman of the executive board of Sberbank, Russia’s largest financial institution that was also sanctioned this week.
Yuriy Alekseyevich Soloviev and wife Galina Olegovna Ulyutina
Yuriy Alekseyevich Soloviev is the current chairman of the aforementioned FC Dynamo Moscow club and a VTB Bank executive. His wife, Galina, was earlier caught the eye of the US Treasury Department, which said she was implicated in a pay-to-play passport scheme.
Nikolay Tokarev
Another KGB colleague of Vladimir Putin, the 71-year-old currently is chief executive of Transneft, a major Russian oil and gas company.
The EU text sanctioning him stated, “He is Vladimir Putin’s long-time acquaintance and close associate. He served together with Putin in the KGB in 1980s. Mr Tokarev is one of the Russian state oligarchs who assumed control over large state assets in the 2000s as President Putin consolidated power, and who operate in close partnership with the Russian state.
“Nikolay Tokarev’s Transneft is one of the main sponsors of the palace complex near Gelendzhik which is widely considered to be personally used by President Putin.”
Alisher Usmanov
The 68-year-old is a businessman who operates in the iron ore and steel, media and internet sectors. His company USM Holdings sponsors Everton’s training ground. Usmanov also has an exclusive naming-rights option on Everton’s new stadium.
Oligarchs who have turned on Putin
Mikhail Fridman, the founder of Russia’s largest private bank Alfa Bank, has also been sanctioned by the EU.
Notably, Fridman became the first oligarch to speak out against the Russian invasion this weekend after a letter he sent to his employees was shared by multiple outlets.
In the letter, the billionaire called for “bloodshed to end,” though he clarified he didn’t intend to be “political.”
The 57-year-old, who was ranked as the 128th richest person in the world by Forbes in 2021, also said the war was a ‘tragedy’ for both countries’ people and added that the conflict was driving a wedge between the two eastern Slav peoples of Russia and Ukraine, who have been brothers for centuries.
Media mogul Evgeny Lebedev has also appealed to Vladimir Putin to stop the invasion of Ukraine, through the Evening Standard newspaper.
Lord Lebedev, who owns the newspaper alongside The Independent, used the publication’s front page on Monday to write an open letter to the Russian leader.
The Russian-born wrote: “I plead with you to use today’s negotiations to bring this terrible conflict in Ukraine to an end.”
We don’t know how long the sanctions will remain imposed, but experts note that the move will have no real effect on the Russian leader.
With inputs from agencies
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