The richest man in Russia asks from his Seychelles resort: “Does punishing me resolve the conflict?”

After the launch of the Russian military operation in Ukraine last Thursday, the United States and its allies imposed a sanctions package on President Vladimir Putin and some of his close associates.

The European Union has added Russian businessman Alexei Mordashov – who owns a third of Europe’s largest travel company and is its largest single shareholder – to the sanctions list.

TUI Tourism shares are known to be listed in London. And while Mordashov has not been sanctioned in the UK, his business interests in the region will now be severely curtailed, according to The Guardian.

The European Union has identified various concerns about Mordashov; He claims that the Bank of Russia (rossiya bank), in which has a financial interest, is the “personal bank” of senior Russian officials who benefited from the annexation of Crimea. The bloc also said it believed the companies of media in invested have contributed to destabilizing Ukraine.

Mordashov, the richest man in Russia, grew up at 56 in a humble family as the son of a miller in Cherepovets, 300 miles north of Moscow, to become the CEO of Russia’s largest steel and mining company, Severstal.

The Russian has not moved far from the list of the 50 richest people in the world in 2021. According to the list of billionaires of the magazine “Forbes”, Mordashov is in 51st place and at the time his personal net worth was estimated at $ 29.1 billion.

Severstal published in previously describing bulletins in detail how some of its high-powered products are used in the production of Russian defense equipment, including armored vehicles.

Mordashov heads the parent company, Safegroup, a private investment firm, with interests ranging from telecommunications to gold mining to media and engineering.

In addition to his vast business interests, Mordashov has many features and properties that he won’t be able to do without, including a private jet and at least one yacht.
It is said that he is enjoying a vacation away from the conflict or the European winter.

Last week, air traffic controllers followed the billionaire’s plane as it traveled from the Seychelles to Moscow. Last Thursday, President Vladimir Putin invited some of the most prominent Russian businessmen to a meeting in the Kremlin.

The Mordashov plane – which has a large cabin in capable of carrying 14 passengers and has the autonomy to fly non-stop from London to Beijing – didn’t spend much time in Russia before returning to the Seychelles, where the billionaire is enjoying a vacation on one of his yachts, which bear the name “Nord”, its length is 142 meters and shares its name with the gold mining company Mordashov.

In a statement, Mordashov said he did not understand how its inclusion on the EU sanctions list could help resolve the conflict. in Ukraine, saying: “I have absolutely nothing to do with the emergence of the current geopolitical tension.”

Describing himself out of politics, he called for an end to the Russian war in Ukraine, which he described as “the tragedy of two brother peoples”. “It is horrible that Ukrainians and Russians die, people suffer from hardships, the economy collapses. We must do everything necessary to find a via out of this conflict in very near future and stop the bloodshed, “he continued.

The sanctions have gained approval from the UK, Canada and more than 15 other countries to ban Russian private planes from flying over their airspace.

However, many Russian businessmen are not interested and are still enjoying their private jets, mega yachts and their money.

The names of a number of these wealthy Russians residing in New York have surfaced, with Roman Abramovich, the billionaire and owner of the club Chelsea British known as “Putin’s banker”, in top the list, according to the New York Post.