co-founder of “Yandex” Volozh asked the EU to lift sanctions from him – Kommersant

Yandex co-founder Arkady Volozh sent a formal request to the authorities of the European Union (EU) to remove him from the sanctions list, reports the Financial Times (FT) with reference to sources. The EU imposed sanctions on Mr. Volozh on June 3, 2022.

According to FT interlocutors, Arkady Volozh’s lawyers appealed to the EU authorities with a request to lift the sanctions measures against him a few days after the co-founder of Yandex spoke out against Russia’s military actions on the territory of Ukraine. According to the publication, EU officials will consider his request next month.

“Sanctions, of course, play a significant role. He (Arkady Volozh.— “b”) is very worried about the sanctions and his reputation. He is really against the war and wanted to state this from the very beginning, ”the FT quoted a source close to the businessman as saying.

However, another interlocutor of the publication close to Mr. Volozh expressed doubt that the request to remove him from the sanctions list would be granted. According to him, many Russian entrepreneurs “used to convince themselves that they were very close” to getting out of the sanctions, “wishful thinking.”

According to the FT, EU sanctions could be lifted once member states agree that there is “compelling evidence” that an individual or entity “no longer meets the criteria for sanctions.” The only person who managed to achieve an exception from the sanctions list was the founder of Tinkoff Bank, Oleg Tinkov. Great Britain removed sanctions from him at the end of July.

Arkady Volozh was included in the EU sanctions list on June 3, 2022. As the reasons for including Mr. Volozh on the sanctions list, it was indicated that the main shareholders of Yandex are the state-owned banks Sber and VTB, which fell under the sanctions. On the same day, Yandex announced that Mr. Volozh was leaving all positions in the company. He served as CEO of the Dutch Yandex NV (the parent company of Yandex) and was a member of its board of directors.

In August 2023 Arkady Volozh spoke out against military operations in Ukraine. In his appeal, the businessman noted that since 2014 he has not lived in Russia and is in Israel, but he understands that he “has a share of responsibility for the actions of the country.”