Viktor Felixovich Vekselberg is a Ukrainian-born Russian-Israeli-Cypriot oligarch, billionaire, and businessman. He is the owner and president of Renova Group, a Russian conglomerate. According to Forbes, as of November 2021, his fortune is estimated at $9.3 billion, making him the 262nd richest person in the world.
Vladimir Olegovich Potanin is a Russian billionaire businessman. He acquired his wealth notably through the controversial loans-for-shares program in Russia in the early to mid-1990s.
Russian oligarchs are business oligarchs of the former Soviet republics who rapidly accumulated wealth in the 1990s via the Russian privatisation that followed the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The failing Soviet state left the ownership of state assets contested, which allowed for informal deals with former USSR officials as a means to acquire state property.
Vladimir Petrovich Yevtushenkov is a Russian billionaire business oligarch. He is the majority owner (49.2%) and former сhairman of Sistema. As a member of the Russian-Saudi Economic Council and as chairman since 2002 of both the Russian side of the Russian-Saudi and Russian-Arab Business Councils which are part of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), he maintains very close ties to both Saudi Arabia and the Arab world.
Sir Leonard Valentinovich Blavatnik is a Ukrainian-born British-American businessman and philanthropist. As of January 2024, Forbes estimated his net worth at $31.3 billion. In 2017, Blavatnik received a knighthood for services to philanthropy.
The Bank of Cyprus (BoC) is a Cypriot financial services company established in 1899 with its headquarters in Strovolos.
AFK Sistema PAO is a large Russian conglomerate company, founded by Vladimir Yevtushenkov, who was chairman of the corporation's board of directors until 2022. In April, Yevtushenkov's shareholding in Sistema has decreased to 49.2%, and he also stepped down from Sistema's board.
Yury Valentinovich Kovalchuk is a Russian billionaire businessman and financier who is "reputed to be Vladimir Putin's personal banker". The Panama Papers leak revealed that Kovalchuk had transferred at least $1 billion to an offshore entity.
Igor Ivanovich Sechin is a Russian oligarch and a government official, considered a close ally and "de facto deputy" of Vladimir Putin.
Petr Olegovich Aven is a Russian oligarch, businessman, economist and politician who also holds Latvian citizenship. Until March 2022 he headed Alfa-Bank, Russia's largest commercial bank. In March 2022, he resigned from the board of directors at Alfa-Bank and LetterOne Group to help them avoid sanctions. In 2023 he was named the 659th richest person in the world, with a net worth of around $4.2 billion.
Gennady Nikolayevich Timchenko is a Russian oligarch and billionaire businessman. He founded and owns the private investment firm Volga Group. He was previously a co-owner of Gunvor Group.
The Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, also known as the SDN List, is a United States government sanctions/embargo measure targeting U.S.-designated terrorists, officials and beneficiaries of certain authoritarian regimes, and international criminals. The list is managed by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). When individuals are added to the list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN), their U.S. assets are blocked. Moreover, their names are added to automated screening systems used by banks in the United States and many foreign countries, making it difficult for them to open or hold accounts, transfer money, or transact properties internationally. Any individual or entity that provides support related to terrorism, drug trafficking or unauthorized military use to any person or entity appearing on the SDN list risks being penalized under the USA PATRIOT Act.
International sanctions have been imposed against Russia and Crimea during the Russo-Ukrainian War by a large number of countries, including the United States, Canada, the European Union, and international organisations following the Russian annexation of Crimea, which began in late February 2014. Belarus has also been sanctioned for its cooperation with and assistance to Russian armed forces. The sanctions were imposed against individuals, businesses, and officials from Russia and Ukraine. Russia responded with sanctions against several countries, including a total ban on food imports from Australia, Canada, Norway, Japan, the United States, the EU and the United Kingdom.
Columbus Nova is an investment company founded in 2000 by Andrew Intrater, who serves as the company's chief executive officer and is cousin to Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg.
The Post Bank is a Russian PAO consumer bank founded on January 28, 2016, and obtained a license from the Central Bank of Russia for banking operations No. 650 on March 25, 2016. It was previously the Leto Bank under VTB24. Prior to that, it was the "Bezhitsa-Bank" in Bryansk. The company's headquarters are in Moscow.
Navalny 35 are a group of Russian human rights abusers, kleptocrats, and corruptioners involved in poisoning and imprisonment of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The initial list contained 35 individuals.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine beginning on 24 February 2022, the United States, the European Union, and other Western countries introduced or significantly expanded sanctions covering Russian President Vladimir Putin, other government members and Russian citizens in general. Some Russian banks were banned from using the SWIFT international payments system. The sanctions and the boycotts of Russia and Belarus impacted the Russian economy.
The response of the United States to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine that began in 2022 has been in favor of Ukraine. President Biden condemned the invasion, providing military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, and sanctioning Russia and Belarus, the countries heavily involved in invading Ukraine.
East-West United Bank is a bank based in Luxembourg, established on 12 June 1974 by the Gosbank, the Soviet Union's central bank. It has been fully owned by Russia-based Sistema since 2018. The bank offered private banking and corporate financing. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 the bank has had to surmount many problems. Unable to sell the business, Sistema took the decision in late 2023 to close the bank.
