Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman is wanted in Ukraine

The Security Service of Ukraine has declared a wanted Russian businessman, billionaire Mikhail Fridman. In Ukraine, he is accused of financing Russian aggression. Previously, Friedman’s assets in Ukraine were seized.

According to the SBU, Fridman finances the Russian army and the military-industrial complex. Ukrainian law enforcement agencies claim that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia, the businessman has invested about two billion rubles in several Russian military plants. Among them are the Tula Cartridge Plant, which produces cartridges, as well as the Yalamov Ural Optical and Mechanical Plant, which produces high-tech equipment for combat aircraft and helicopters.

In the search card on the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Fridman is listed as “a person hiding from the pre-trial investigation.” There is no information about the initiation of a criminal case against him.

At the same time, earlier, a member of the Federation Council from the Russian-occupied Zaporozhye region and the former head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, turned to the Investigative Committee with a request to check Fridman’s involvement in the financing of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He did not say what exactly aroused Rogozin’s suspicions.

• One of the richest people in Russia, Mikhail Fridman, was born in Lviv. He has the citizenship of Russia and Israel, he is a resident of Great Britain. In Ukraine, he owned many assets, including shares in the Ukrainian branch of Alfa-Bank (after the start of the war, the Ukrainian company was renamed Sense Bank and nationalized), the largest mobile operator Kyivstar, and others.
• Friedman is under sanctions from the United States, the European Union, and Great Britain. The businessman did not publicly support Russia’s war against Ukraine, but he did not condemn the actions of the Russian authorities either. His name appears in the investigation of the “Project” about oligarchs who did not publicly speak out about the war, but continue to earn on contracts with the Ministry of Defense.
• The British government called Friedman a “pro-Kremlin oligarch” with close ties to Vladimir Putin. Friedman denied it.