Volkov slams sanctions relief for billionaire Fridman he once proposed himself
Anti-Corruption Foundation figure Leonid Volkov has denounced the EU's decision to lift sanctions on oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Alisher Usmanov, even though he himself signed a 2022 letter urging Fridman's removal from the sanctions list.
Leonid Volkov, head of political projects at the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), wrote on Telegram that the European Union's decision to remove billionaires Mikhail Fridman and Alisher Usmanov from its sanctions list was "shameful" and set a "terrible precedent." He described dropping Fridman from the list as a mistake, noting that the businessman was not required to take any public action against the Kremlin to obtain it.
Volkov recalled that four years ago he had argued for creating clear, transparent rules allowing businesspeople such as Fridman to earn sanctions relief in exchange for concrete steps that would undermine Vladimir Putin's government — from condemning the war to delivering substantial support to Ukraine. He said this would have been achievable had such a framework been introduced in time, but it never was.
He was harsher about Usmanov's delisting, calling it a "moral catastrophe": Usmanov, he said, is widely regarded as one of the Kremlin's most loyal oligarchs, and he obtained his removal "by taking hostages." Volkov added that Latvia alone had been willing to resist Europe's capitulation to Putin-aligned oligarchs, but that resistance proved insufficient.
FBK leader Yulia Navalnaya endorsed Volkov's criticism, saying Europe appears more concerned with the size of someone's bank account than with whether they back the war or oppose Putin. According to her, wealthy individuals with yachts and connections can shed sanctions with little trouble, while people who fled Russia over political persecution or mobilization face visa and banking obstacles and other barriers — and may even be accused of supporting the war themselves.
In 2022, Volkov had signed a letter to the European Commission calling for sanctions on Fridman and other senior Alfa Group figures to be lifted, proposing a simple, transparent set of criteria for delisting that would include publicly condemning the war, compensating for damage caused, and cutting ties with Putin's regime. After the letter surfaced in 2023, Volkov stepped down as head of ACF International, the foundation's international arm, though he remained one of its leading figures.
