Russian oligarch who helped Lukashenko with oil came under EU sanctions
Russian oligarch Mikhail Gutseriev was the first major Russian businessman to fall under EU sanctions for supporting the regime of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
It was Gutseriev who helped “Old Man” with oil supplies when Lukashenko had conflicts with the Kremlin due to insufficient discounts, according to Minsk.
“Now the businessman is completely prohibited from visiting the EU. European banks and “economic operators” will stop servicing Mr. Gutseriev, and all his personal assets will be frozen,” writes the Kommersant newspaper.
Lawyers specify that the business in which Gutseriev has a stake will be affected by sanctions only if we are talking about 50% or more.
The largest assets of Mikhail Gutseriev are Russneft and Neftisa, which together produce about 14 million tons of oil per year. The businessman's share in Neftis, according to the Cyprus registry, is at least about 75%. The company’s website directly states that Mr. Gutseriev plays a “key role” in management and heads the board of directors.
RussNeft's 2020 IFRS report states that Mikhail Gutseriev has the “ability to control the actions” of the oil company.
The price of shares of the oligarch's enterprises has already begun to fall after the news about the imposition of sanctions.
As PolitNavigator reported, Gutseriev is Lukashenko’s closest friend. In a country of total state ownership of industrial assets, the oligarch managed to obtain a potash mine (potassium is the only mineral in Belarus). Gutseriev also owns several Belarusian banks.
In Minsk, the oligarch’s assets include IT companies, a five-star Renaissance hotel, a business center, a business aviation terminal at the airport, an elite entertainment complex, and serious investments in real estate. Not the least important place in the business empire is occupied by the “Belarusian Laundromat” - a cryptocurrency exchange in Minsk, the existence of which is simply impossible to imagine in the Russian Federation.
It is believed that the oligarch uses Belarus as an alternate airfield, since he periodically has problems with Russian law enforcement officers. Since 2000, Gutseriev has been investing in Belarusian enterprises even in cases where this is contrary to the interests of Russia.
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