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Sanctioned oligarch Mikhail Friedman returns to Moscow for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Friedman, who has remained in London despite Western sanctions since President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion, arrived in Moscow over the weekend from Israel, according to two people familiar with the matter. They said he left the UK for Israel last month.
The oligarch, who is sanctioned by Britain, the European Union and the United States, had been considering a visit to Russia for months but accelerated those plans after Hamas began attacking Israel on Saturday, a person familiar with the matter said.
Friedman had not discussed his arrival with the Kremlin and planned to return to Israel after the conflict ended, the person said.
Friedman declined to comment. The Kremlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ukrainian-born Friedman was one of the few oligarchs to voice even cautious criticism of Putin’s invasion, saying in the early weeks of the conflict that it was a “tragedy” and that war was “never the answer.”
Friedman has disputed Western sanctions against him and his company, Alfa Group. He offered support for Ukrainian President Zelensky while lobbying Western countries to remove him from sanctions lists. He even solicited letters from several Russian opposition members – including an activist jailed for opposing the war – pleading with the EU to lift punitive measures.
Friedman’s departure from Britain and his return to Moscow underscores how Russia’s elite are learning to live with the war, even as it destroys their global business empire and lavish Western lifestyles.
“For Putin, it would be a huge victory if Friedman was in Moscow,” one person familiar with the matter said. “This is a big mistake the West has made – forcing us to go back. (Friedman) will try to go to Israel, but it will be very difficult. He has no money, no apartment, nothing – he can’t even open a bank account.”
Although Alfa’s founders told friends they had no intention of returning to Russia, the sanctions eventually prompted Friedman’s business partner Deman Khan to move back to Moscow from London last year.
Another Alpha shareholder, Petr Aven, fled to Latvia, leaving Friedman to fight British sanctions and a National Crime Agency investigation. The investigation began last year when more than 50 police officers raided Friedman’s £65m mansion in Highgate, north London.
Soon after, the NCA scaled back its investigation into Friedman and dropped the last remaining charge in September. As part of a separate investigation in May, the company also partially lifted a freezing order on Ivan’s accounts, giving him access to around £400,000.
Additional reporting by Jane Croft in London
Svlook
