Sanctioned oligarch worries he might have to clean his own house

An oligarch has complained that he doesn’t know how to live after being slapped with sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Lviv-born oligarch Mikhail Fridman, who made his fortune in banking and energy, told Bloombergthat he doesn’t “know how to live” following the barrage of UK and EU sanctions against oligarchs.

Worth approximately $14 billion before the war, the Alfa Bank founder is now technically worth $10 billion - but has no cash.

After being sanctioned by the EU on February 28th and the UK on March 15th, he must apply for a license to spend money and must live off an allowance of £2,500.

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With his accounts frozen, he said he doesn’t know how he’ll even pay for his cleaner.

With a nervous chuckle, he told Bloomberg’s Stephanie Baker: “Maybe I should clean the house myself.”

He added: “That’s fine. I used to live in a small dormitory room with four men when I was a student, but after 35 years it’s unexpected.”

He told Baker that his woes are nothing compared to what Ukrainians are going through, adding: “My problems are really nothing compared with their problems.”

Fridman also told the news outlet that sanctions against oligarchs show that Europe doesn’t understand how Russian power works.

He said: “If the people who are in charge in the EU believe that because of sanctions, I could approach Mr. Putin and tell him to stop the war, and it will work, then I’m afraid we’re all in big trouble.

“That means those who are making this decision understand nothing about how Russia works. And that’s dangerous for the future.”

Fridman has previously spoken out against the war.

He wrote a letter, which was later made public, to staff at his investment firm LetterOne condemning the war.

In it, he wrote that he doesn’t typically make political statements, but said that he wants “the bloodshed to end”, stating that the war will “cost lives and damage two nations who have been brothers for hundreds of years.”

Last Tuesday, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss announced over 370 more Russian and Belarussian sanctions, bringing the total number of individuals, entities, and subsidiaries put under strict measures to over 1,000 since the invasion of Ukraine began.

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