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Published 14:01 IST, January 24th 2023

Russia-Ukraine war: Kyiv sanctions Russian billionaire Mikhail Shelkov; seizes assets

The assets of the Russian billionaire Mikhail Shelkov include multiple apartments, company shares, vehicles, and money in Ukrainian bank accounts.

Reported by: Saumya Joshi
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Anti-Corruption Ukraine
Image: AP | Image: self

Ukraine's Anti-Corruption Court seized the Ukrainian assets of Russian billionaire Mikhail Shelkov on January 23, reported Kiyv Independent. The assets of the Russian billionaire Mikhail Shelkov include multiple apartments, company shares, vehicles, and money in Ukrainian bank accounts. Shelkov was the former head of the investment division of the state-owned company Rostec, which controls Russia's defense contractors, as per Transparency International Ukraine. All the assets and corporate rights belonging to Russian oligarchs located inside Ukraine are in the process of being seized by the Ukrainian Government for the past year. Recently, $460 million was transferred from liquidated accounts of Russian banks to a special fund of the state budget, announced Deposit Guarantee Fund. 

"On Monday, January 23, the panel of judges of the Higher Anti-Corruption Court partially satisfied the administrative lawsuit of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine filed against the Russian billionaire, and applied the sanction provided for in clause 1-1, part 1 of Article. 4 of the Law of Ukraine "On Sanctions", read the Press statement released on January 23. 

Who is Russian billionaire Mikhail Shelkov? 

Russian billionaire Mikhail Shelkov is positioned at 59th on the Russian Forbes list of billionaires with a net worth of $1.5 billion. He is the former head of the investment division of state-owned Rostec, which controlled military contractors in Russia, according to Forbes. Apart from holding the position of former CEO of Rostec, he is a member of Putin's inner circle. From 2012 to 2014, Shelkov and his partners bought a controlling stake in VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation from Rostec and Gazprom bank. The corporation is considered the world's largest titanium producer for the aerospace industry, with clients such as Boeing, Airbus, Rolls-Royce, and Embra, as per a Forbes report. 

Sanctions on Russian oligarchs

Just after a month after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in March 2022, the governments of the UK, US, and EU countries responded to Russia's brutal aggression. Multiple sanctions were imposed against the billionaire businessmen perceived to be in President Vladimir Putin's inner circle. This was followed by a warning from Russian President Putin to the Russian allies. Putin said that such measures should be avoided as the relations could be soured. The list of sanctioned Russian billionaires includes Alisher Usmanov, Roman Abramovich, Oleg Deripaska, Igor Sechin, Alexey Miller, Pyotr Aven, and Mikhail Fridman.

Updated 14:01 IST, January 24th 2023