The sanctioned Russian oligarch has asked the UK for an allowance so he can go out and buy food. In an interview, Ukrainian-born Mikhail Fridman, who’s estimated net worth of 9 11.9 billion, said he now has to eat at his home on the Athlone House on the edge of Hampstead Heath because of sanctions on his fortune. . Although he had previously spoken out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Fridman was sanctioned by the government on March 15 and said he was now “practically under house arrest.” Speaking to the Spanish newspaper El Pais, he said: “The authorities in the UK will have to give me a certain amount to be able to go by taxi and buy food, but it will be a very limited amount in relation to the cost of living in London. . . » “I can not pay even in a restaurant. I have to eat at home and I am almost under house arrest “.

READ MORE

Mr. Fridman is the founder of Russia’s largest private bank, Alfa Bank, and was the director of LetterOne – which owns shares in Holland & Barrett – before stepping down earlier this month. He also claimed that the sanctions against Russian businessmen would have no effect, while mourning them given the amount of money he has invested in the United Kingdom. “I have been in London for eight years, I have invested billions of dollars in Britain and other European countries and the answer to that is that they seize everything and throw me out,” he said. “People who have been sanctioned should return to Russia, where they will have no choice but to be completely loyal, and where they will continue to work, because they are energetic, brilliant and talented people, and start businesses and create jobs “. In an email to LetterOne staff, he criticized the conflict in a rare political statement. According to the Financial Times, he said: “I do not make political statements, I am a businessman with responsibilities towards my many thousands of employees in Russia and Ukraine. “I am convinced, however, that war can never be the answer. This crisis will cost lives and hurt two nations that have been brothers for hundreds of years. “While a solution seems terribly distant, I can only join those whose ardent desire is to end the bloodshed. I’m sure my colleagues share my point of view. “