Russian billionairers close to the Russian President Vladimir Putin have invented several schemes to bypass the sanctions of the European Union. According to The Insider's investigation, these schemes allow them to continue earning billions of income in European markets, despite official restrictions.
The key way to evade sanctions is to reduce your own share in business by less than 50%. According to the EU sanctions rules, such companies are not limited if the sub -person owns less than half of the shares. Thus, oligarchs continue to manage their assets through false persons or partners. Deripaska reduced his share in EN+ and Rusali to 35%. Formally, this has avoided sanctions, although EN+ controls 57% of Rusala shares. Thanks to this scheme, Deripaska not only retained his influence, but also increased his wealth to $ 8.2 billion, which is 1.5 times more than before. It is also known that some of these funds are funding for a private military company (PEC), which is fighting against Ukraine.
Usmanov handed over some of his shares to the company managers, relatives and other controlled persons. It has reduced its share in the USM Holding to 49%. Usmanova's key partner, State Duma MP Andriy Skoch, reprinted assets for his father and daughter, which allowed to avoid sanctions. Since the beginning of the war, their wealth has increased to $ 13.4 billion and $ 6.7 billion, respectively.
Andriy Guriev and Vladimir Litvinenko: Guriev owns almost 49% of Phosagro's shares that produces phosphate fertilizers. Litvinenko, a partner of Guriev, passed 20% of shares to his wife to avoid sanctions. Due to this, Litvinenko family has doubled to $ 3 billion. They continue to earn from metallurgical and mining companies in Europe. Gennady Timchenko: Timchenko, known as Putin's wallet, went the path of his colleagues. He reduced his share in businesses and became a junior partner of Leonid Micelson, who is not subject to sanctions. Through these manipulations, Timchenko retained his impact and access to profits.
The schemes of Russian oligarchs undermine the effectiveness of the EU sanction regime. Despite the efforts of Western countries, the Kremlin billionaires continue to enrich themselves, maintaining financial support for Russian military aggression. This indicates the need for strict control and revision of the rules that allow you to circumvent sanctions through technical loops.
