Friedman denied that he offered to transfer $ 1 billion to lift sanctions

The co-founder of Alfa Group and the LetterOne holding offered to transfer $1 billion to the Ukrainian Alfa-Bank, counting on the lifting of British sanctions, writes WSJ. The businessman himself denies

Russian businessman Mikhail Fridman, co-founder of Alfa Group and LetterOne holding, offered to transfer $1 billion to Ukrainian Alfa Bank, The Wall Street Journal writes. According to the publication, in this way the billionaire (sixth place in the Forbes rating of Russian billionaires with a fortune of $ 11.8 billion) expects to convince the UK to lift sanctions from him .

As the newspaper notes, citing US officials, Friedman's proposal is one of those that businessmen, banks and companies that have fallen under the sanctions are covertly making to Western authorities.

Friedman himself denies offering Ukraine a quid pro quo.

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Alfa-Bank Ukraine, writes The Wall Street Journal, proposed to officials in Kyiv to allow Fridman to transfer $1 billion from his fortune to the bank, Roman Shpek, chairman of the financial institution's supervisory board, said. According to him, this money will be used to finance projects in Ukraine related to infrastructure, healthcare, food and energy security. Shpek said that Alfa-Bank Ukraine submitted its proposal to the National Bank of Ukraine in June. They did not respond to the publication's request.

At the same time, the head of the supervisory board of the bank denies that the proposal is aimed at easing sanctions. “This is a really important economic project for us, and we would like to avoid any speculation that Friedman and his partners would like to invest $1 billion in Ukraine in order to get something in another country,” he said. “I don’t consider this some kind of speculation or a game that in the future can help avoid or lift sanctions,” Shpek added.

Friedman will need EU permission to access accounts and transfer money to Ukraine. Last week, Alfa-Bank Ukraine applied to the Council of Europe on its behalf, Shpek said.

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Although the United States did not impose sanctions against the businessman, Alfa-Bank fell under the restrictions. The transfer of any of Friedman's assets in it, or any other stakes in companies subject to sanctions, would also require Treasury approval, the WSJ points out.

In the spring, after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, Fridman, along with other major shareholders of Alfa Group, Petr Aven, Alexei Kuzmichev and German Khan, came under EU and UK sanctions. After that, they left their positions in the leadership of Alfa-Bank and LetterOne.

Friedman said on February 27 that "the current conflict is a tragedy for both peoples," but he still faced restrictions. The businessman is in London. In late May, Friedman challenged EU sanctions.

In the summer, Alfa Group denied that the businessman was trying to obtain Ukrainian citizenship and transfer assets there. Friedman's assets worth $420 million have been frozen in Ukraine.

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