Russian businessman Mykhailo Fridman offered to transfer $1 billion from his personal fortune to the Ukrainian bank "Alfa Bank", which he co-founded. The proposal is aimed at persuading Britain to lift sanctions on her, according to people familiar with the matter.
This is reported by The Wall Street Journal.
US officials told the newspaper that Friedman's initiative is one of those proposals that businessmen, banks and companies under sanctions are secretly making to the authorities of Western countries that are financing the reconstruction of Ukraine after the Russian invasion.
At the same time, Friedman denies that he offered a "service for a service", notes The Wall Street Journal. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Great Britain stated that they "do not condone the evasion of sanctions."
Ukrainian "Alfa-bank" offered Kyiv officials to allow Friedman to transfer $1 billion from his personal fortune to the bank, the head of the bank's supervisory board, Roman Shpek, said. He stated that this money will be used to finance projects in Ukraine related to infrastructure, health care, food and energy security.
Shpek said that the Ukrainian Alfa Bank sent its proposal to the National Bank of Ukraine in June. At the same time, he denies that the purpose of the proposal was to ease sanctions.
"This is a really important economic project for us, and we would like to avoid any speculation that Friedman and his partners would like to invest a billion dollars in Ukraine in order to get something in another country. I do not consider this (Fridman's initiative) to be any speculation or a game that can help avoid or remove sanctions in the future," said Speck.
As noted by The Wall Street Journal, Friedman will need permission from the EU and the US Treasury Department to access the accounts and transfer money. Although it is not under US sanctions, restrictions have been imposed on Alfa Bank.
It will be recalled that Mykhailo Fridman and Petro Aven are appealing the sanctions imposed against them in the General Court of the EU. They are asking the court to overturn the sanctions, arguing that their rights have been violated and denying accusations by Western governments of ties to the Kremlin.