Russian tycoon Vekselberg claims $1.5 billion frozen in his foreign accounts
Russian oligarch, the founder of Renova Group, Viktor Vekselberg said that more than $1.5 billion of his funds were blocked in the foreign accounts after U.S. sanctions were imposed against him.
According to the billionaire, these funds can be used only with the permission of the U.S. Treasury Department, but the agency does not give consent regardless of how this money will be used.
"They didn't even allow to give anything to charities fighting the pandemic, even though it was about relatively small amount, several million that I wanted to send to help fight the coronavirus in Europe. This was another revelation for me. How can one not allow money to be given to those in need at such a difficult time?" Vekselberg said in an interview with Forbes.
Vekselberg stressed that not only foreign projects, but also Russian ones suffered as a result of the sanctions. He recalled that Renova supported the Bolshoi and Mariinsky theatres, various museum projects and charitable foundations. Most of them lost this financial support after the sanctions were imposed.
In early April 2018, the United States imposed sanctions against Russia. Viktor Vekselberg and the Renova group were among those hit with sanctions. U.S. citizens and companies are prohibited from carrying out any business with sanctioned individuals or legal entities.
Vekselberg later filed a motion with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to lift the sanctions, calling them illegal and unfair.