Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Two UK-based Russian oligarchs have shares in $22bn conglomerate frozen

Two UK-based Russian oligarchs have shares in $22bn conglomerate frozen

Action taken upon Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven by holding company that owns Holland & Barrett after EU imposed sanctions
The UK-based Russian billionaire oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven have had their shares in the $22bn (£17bn) conglomerate LetterOne, which owns Holland & Barrett, “frozen”, days after they were hit with EU sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

LetterOne, which is just under 50% owned by Fridman and Aven, announced on Wednesday night that the men had “ceased to have any involvement with the company” and that it had frozen their shares.

Lord Davies, the company’s chair and a former Labour trade minister, told the Guardian: “Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven have ceased to have any involvement with the company. Their shares are frozen and they will not receive dividends, expenses, information or access to the business.”

As a result, Davies said, the company was “not controlled by sanctioned individuals”. The billionaires, who have said they will “contest the spurious and unfounded basis” for the imposition of EU sanctions, will not be able to sell their stakes in LetterOne while they remain blacklisted. They will also be barred from entering LetterOne’s offices or speaking to any employees.

Fridman and Aven were placed on the EU sanctions list on Monday. They are not under UK or US sanctions. Fridman was described by the EU as “a top Russian financier and enabler of Putin’s inner circle”.

Aven was described by the EU as “one of Vladimir Putin’s closest oligarchs”, and an “especially close personal friend” of the Rosneft chief executive, Igor Sechin. “He is one of approximately 50 wealthy Russian businessmen who regularly meet with Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin,” the EU document added.

The men have denied any “financial or political relationship with President Putin or the Kremlin” and said they would “contest the spurious and unfounded basis for the imposition of these sanctions – vigorously and through all means available to them.”

Fridman, who was listed as the UK’s 11th wealthiest person in the Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated £11bn fortune, owns Athlone House, a £65m mansion in Highgate, north London.

Aven, who has an estimated $5.5bn fortune, owns Ingliston House, near Virginia Water, on 8.5 acres of land in a gated estate next to Wentworth golf course. It boasts an art collection including works by Larionov, Goncharova and Kandinsky, as well sculptures by Louise Bourgeois, Henry Moore and Antony Gormley in the garden.

The men said the EU sanctions were “malicious and deliberate falsehood”. “Pure and simple, the product of historical fantasies and conspiracy theories dreamed up by private individuals with their own agendas,” their representatives said on Tuesday. “They will fight this injustice with every sinew – for themselves and the tens of thousands of employees in the UK and Europe who rely on them.”

LetterOne, which was created by Fridman and partners with proceeds from the sale of TNK-BP after it was bought out by Kremlin energy giant Rosneft, owns a swathe of energy assets across Europe as well as Holland & Barrett and the Spanish supermarket group Dia.

Davies said he would work to support the more than 120,000 people who work for LetterOne and his “focus is to strengthen the board to ensure these jobs are protected”.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
×