Originally Syndicated on June 22, 2023 @ 5:59 am
Russian businessman Vladimir Potanin is worth $1 billion. He famously amassed his money as a result of Russia’s contentious loans-for-shares program in the early to mid-1990s.
With an estimated net worth of $24.4 billion as of August 2022, he was the 38th richest person in the world and the richest individual in Russia, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Mikhail Prokhorov was his longtime business partner until they decided to separate ways in 2007. They then placed their shared assets in Folletina Trading, a holding company, until they reached an asset partition agreement.
Potanin was one of 210 people who were listed on the US Treasury’s “Putin list” in January 2018 as being intimately linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Potanin received sanctions from the UK in June 2022 as a result of being one of the top oligarchs in “President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.
Sanctions Against Vladimir Potanin
In 2022, the UK government authorized it in connection with the Russo-Ukrainian War.
In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Trudeau administration put Potanin on its list of sanctioned countries on April 6, 2022.
The US Treasury added Potanin to its list of banned substances on December 15, 2022, joining other countries.
Investigations Into Vladimir Potanin
In July 2018, the FBI revealed that Vladimir Potanin, a private equity investor, owns ByteGrid, a company hired to hold data for the Maryland State Board of Elections. There was no proof that the corporate network of MDSBE had been infiltrated, according to a retrospective investigation report published by the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center of the US Department of Homeland Security. As a precaution, the contract was subsequently transferred to Intelishift.
U.S. sanctions are imposed on Russian businessman Vladimir Potanin – Media
According to the Wall Street Journal, which cited American sources, the United States is trying to put penalties on Vladimir Potanin, one of Russia’s wealthiest men, but would not sanction Nornickel, the firm where he is a major shareholder.
Sanctions are anticipated as part of the move, which could happen as soon as Thursday, against Potanin, his wife Ekaterina Potanina, a yacht he owns, and several of his financial enterprises, according to the newspaper.
The largest producer of refined nickel and palladium in the world, Nornickel, was one of the greatest winners in the 1990s post-Soviet division of Russian industry.
The business chose not to respond to the report.
The investment holding company Vladimir Potanin controls, Interros, and Rosbank (ROSB.MM), which Interros acquired earlier this year from Societe Generale SA (SOGN.PA), will both be named on the list of sanctioned parties, according to the publication.
Potanin, 61, is MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC’s (GMKN.MM) or Nornickel’s largest stakeholder. Nornickel is 36% owned by Interros. A Reuters inquiry for comment received no immediate response from Interros.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the United States and its allies have slapped numerous rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
In the most recent wave, several Russian government officials will also be designated for penalties, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The Treasury Department of the United States declined to comment.
