The Council of Ministers decided last Thursday to deprive the Cypriot citizenship of the 4 Russian Oligarchs holding a Cypriot passport, who are on the EU sanctions list. In addition, based on the same decision, the citizenship is removed from their relatives who held a Cypriot passport.
As reported by government sources in Economy Today, commenting on an article by ef. "Phileleftheros" for the mentioned decision of the Council of Ministers, "it is not excluded that other persons who have been imposed sanctions who are holders of a Cypriot passport may appear. In addition, the list of persons subject to sanctions may be extended to include persons holding a Cypriot passport. "
But who are the 4 Russian Oligarchs whose Cypriot passport is taken away after the imposition of sanctions.
1. Vadim Nikolaevich Moshkovich
The first oligarchic Cypriot passport holder whose name came to light after President Anastasiadis's reports of "a passport holder on the sanctions list" is Vadim Nikolaevich Moshkovich.
According to an Economy Today article on March 29, 3, Vadim Nikolaevich Moshkovich appears to have lost $ 2022 billion, almost half of his fortune, due to sanctions against him.
He was born on April 6, 1967 in Moscow.
He studied Bachelor of Arts / Science at the Moscow Institute of Radioengineering, Electronics and Automation. He is married and has three children.
He started his business selling apartments, vodka and oil in the early 1990s. Later, in 2004, he started investing in land and founded the Rusagro group, which produces pork and sugar and is said to be a shareholder in Sberbank.
The 55-year-old Vadim Moshkovich is the chairman of the group and has built a fortune of $ 2,4 billion, which ranked him 1.299 on the Forbes list of the richest people in the world for 2021.
On March 28, 2022, Forbes valued his fortune at $ 1,4 billion, ranking him 2.012th richest in the world.
On February 24, 2022, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Vadim Moshkovich met with 36 other businessmen, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian government officials, to discuss, among other things, the impact of Western sanctions. His participation in this meeting testifies that he belongs to the close circle of the Russian president. That, after all, is one of the main reasons why he was sanctioned.
2. Mikhail Gutseriev - The rich "lyricist"…
The second oligarch "former" holder of a Cypriot passport on the sanctions list is the wealthy businessman Mikhail Gutseriev.
Mikhail Gutseriev is always on the Forbes list of the richest people in the world. It has been on the list of the 2002 richest Russians since 200, while in 2021, it ranked 60th with $ 2,5 billion.
He built his fortune after the collapse of the USSR.
He is the founder and major shareholder of Safmar Group, a group with a variety of activities, including in the fields of oil, coal, real estate and retail.
In 2015 and 2017, it spent $ 2 billion to acquire banks, pension funds, oil fields, factories, warehouses, real estate and retail companies.
In 2017, Binbank, headed by his nephew, former billionaire Mikail Shishkhanov, was nationalized by the Central Bank of Russia.
He owns eight radio stations, including the popular Radio Shanson. Gutseriev is known in Russia, in addition to his untold fortune and because he has written lyrics for songs that have become hits.
He is married with two children.
According to Fordes, Said's son is a shareholder in Safmar. His father gave him his financial business, a 32% in the oil business and a large chain of electrical appliance stores.
Gutseriev was also sanctioned by the EU in 2021 due to his close friendly and supportive relationship with the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko.
3. Alexander Ponomarenko - The president of the 2nd largest airport in Europe
The third "former Cypriot" oligarch to have his Cypriot passport revoked as a result of the sanctions is Alexander Ponomarenko.
He is also on the Forbes list of the richest people in the world and his fortune is estimated at $ 2.3 billion.
He is chairman of the board of Sheremetyevo, Russia's largest airport.
Ponomarenko and partner Alexander Skorobogatko started their business in banking and shipping. They then expanded into the construction sector and especially into airport construction.
In 2013, the two, along with Arkady Rotenberg, a close friend and "teammate" in President Vladimir Putin's judo, won a tender to build Sheremetyevo State Airport. It is the 2nd largest airport in Europe and one of the 4 airports in Moscow.
The partners and Rotenberg also co-founded TPS Real Estate, which owns more than half of the real estate in Ocean Plaza, Kiev's largest shopping mall.
Ponomarenko is married with 3 children.
He holds a Master of Science from the Russian State Academy of Management. He also holds a Degree in Arts / Sciences from Simferopol State University.
Ponomarenko himself, despite the well-known business relationship he has with President Putin, after hearing the imposition of sanctions by the EU and the United Kingdom against him, "challenged the sanctions."
4. Alexei Kuzmichev - Fortune $ 6.8 billion
The fourth oligarch from whom the Cyprus Passport is removed due to sanctions, is the richest of the rest with his fortune estimated at 6.8 billion dollars according to Forbes.
Alexei Kuzmichev founded the giant Alfa Group, including Alfa Bank and LetterOne, along with his college mates Mikhail Fridman and German Khan.
In 2013, he and his associates sold 25% of their group to the TNK-BP consortium for $ 14 billion.
Kuzmichev resigned from LetterOne's board last March. His departure is not unrelated to the sanctions imposed on him and his close associates.
Sanctions were also imposed on his group, while a few days ago the authorities in France proceeded to seize Kuzmichev's two yachts worth tens of millions of euros.
Kuzmichev is married with 3 children. He holds a Master of Science from the Moscow Steel and Alloy Institute.
of Christ Peter
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