A court in Moscow ruled to seize the assets of the Russian subsidiary of the Metinvest company controlled by Ukraine's richest man Rinat Akhmetov, Russian newspaper Kommersant reported on July 31.
According to the Investigative Committee of Russia, Akhmetov has allegedly used the money from one of Metinvest Eurasia’s accounts to finance the Ukrainian forces, including the Azov Regiment.
The Russian subsidiary of Metinvest, one of Europe's largest suppliers of iron ore, owns the Gornyak boarding house in Krasnodar and the Belgorodmetallosnab company.
After Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Metinvest Eurasia's profit decreased by 74% and the losses amounted to 1.9 billion rubles ($20 million), the Kommersant wrote.
The Russian authorities opened a criminal case against Akhmetov's businesses in Sept. 2020, accusing him of "financing terrorism," according to the media outlet. In August 2022, Russia's Supreme Court labeled the Azov Regiment as a terrorist organization, banning its activities on the territory of Russia.
In June 2022, Akhmetov filed a lawsuit at the European Court of Human Rights against Russia for gross violations of his property rights. Akhmetov asked for "billions of dollars" to compensate for the blockade, looting, destruction, and theft of his grain and metal from Ukraine to Russia.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, as of Oct. 31 last year, Akhmetov's net worth fell by 52% to $5.39 billion compared to the pre-war level.
Natalia Datskevych
