The oligarch complains about sanctions. “The War Made Me a Pariah”

One of Russia’s richest men said he had become a “pariah” in the United Arab Emirates, where he fled after sanctions were imposed. In a wide-ranging interview with the Financial Times, Andrey Melnichenko condemned the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on his personal life, while stating that there had been “war crimes on both sides” in the conflict.

Oligarch punished with sanctions

Melnichenko was sanctioned last March after participating in a February roundtable of Russian business representatives hosted by Vladimir Putin.

The businessman, who made money from coal and fertilizers, previously said that he only learned about the sanctions when he read about it in the news.

“I don’t make weapons for war. I produce food for people and energy for power plants around the world. I don’t promote war. I don’t get involved in politics. What’s the point of that?” – said Mielniczenko in an interview for the FT.

Billionaire’s luxury yachts

Last year, Melnichenko docked his $300 million motor yacht A in the United Arab Emirates. His $578 million sailing yacht was seized by Italian authorities shortly after sanctions were imposed on it.

According to Forbes, his net worth more than doubled to about $25 billion after the invasion and subsequent sanctions on Russia, which forced fertilizer prices to skyrocket.

Sanctions against Russian oligarchs have changed the lives of several influential billionaires who previously spent most of their time in the West. A Guardian analysis of Bloomberg Billionaires Index data shows that oligarchs’ wealth decreased by a total of $95 billion last year.