Arkady Volozh, one of the founders of Yandex, whose fortune is $ 1.1 billion, according to Forbes, asked the European authorities to lift the sanctions imposed on him. The newspaper reports Finance Times.
According to the interlocutors of the publication, after the businessman publicly condemned the actions of the Russian authorities regarding Ukraine, his lawyers appealed to the EU to request the lifting of personal sanctions.
“Honestly, it’s hard to imagine it [Волож] he still could. He felt responsible to his people. [в России]. In the end they were all gone; so it is now. HE [Волож] “He’s very concerned about the sanctions and his reputation,” he said.
said a person close to the businessman.
Volozh’s claim is expected to be discussed in September.
According to the newspaper’s interlocutors, “There are hundreds of sanctioned Russian businessmen who closely follow what Brussels is doing.” In this context, the FT states that European authorities are faced with the problem of “withdrawal paths” for the Russians, who are subject to sanctions and oppose Moscow’s actions in Ukraine.
The European Commission representative also explained that the sanctions can be lifted by court order or if EU countries agree that there is “convincing evidence” that an individual or legal entity is no longer subject to them.
Volozh declined to comment for the Financial Times.
“There were many reasons for keeping quiet”
On August 10, Volozh spoke out against Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine. This was stated in the statement sent to reporters.
“There were many reasons for my silence. You can argue about the topicality of my statement, but not about its essence. Although I have not lived in Russia since 2014, I understand that I also have a share of responsibility for the actions of the country, ”said Volozh.
According to the businessman’s statement, he has friends and relatives living in Ukraine.
Also, the businessman said that he moved to Israel in 2014, and since then Yandex has been developing international projects. According to Volozh, the company’s founders believed they were “building a new Russia” while working at Yandex.
“In February 2022, the world changed and I realized that with Yandex my story is over,” he said.
The businessman left the company in December 2022. In his New Year’s speech, he announced his departure to the staff. Now Volozh supports Russian engineers who decide to leave the country and can “start doing something new in the most advanced fields of technology.”
Attempts to change the biography
On August 7, information appeared on Volozh’s website that he is an “Israeli entrepreneur born in Kazakhstan”. In this text, Russia is mentioned only in connection with CompTek, of which he was the founder and CEO from 1989 to 2000.
Arkady Volozh is a Kazakh-born Israeli technology entrepreneur, computer scientist, investor and philanthropist. It is stated on the site that it is a pioneer in the development of smart products and services based on machine learning, as well as search and navigation technologies.
In addition, similar corrections were made on the English Wikipedia page dedicated to the entrepreneur. In one version of the episode about Volozh, he was called an “Israeli tech entrepreneur born in Kazakhstan.” Later, users corrected the data, stating that “he spent most of his life in Russia and his main business was established here.”
The businessman entered EU sanctions on June 3, 2022. On the same day, Yandex announced that he would step down from his position as CEO and board of directors of the group of companies, and will step down from leadership positions in international subsidiaries.
Source: Gazeta
Ben Stock is a business analyst and writer for “Social Bites”. He offers insightful articles on the latest business news and developments, providing readers with a comprehensive understanding of the business world.