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UK removes sanctions on businessman Tinkov after Branson plea

July 20, 2023 at 10:59 am EDT

(Reuters) -Britain removed sanctions on serial entrepreneur Oleg Tinkov on Thursday, days after an appeal by British billionaire Richard Branson and nine months after Tinkov, critical of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, renounced his Russian citizenship.

Britain sanctioned Tinkov, the founder of digital bank Tinkoff, a month after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, naming him as "a prominent Russian businessman" who had been involved in an area of strategic significance to the Russian government.

Tinkov contested that designation, routinely criticising Russia's actions in Ukraine, offloading his stake in Tinkoff Bank and ultimately renouncing his Russian citizenship last October, saying he did not want to be associated with "fascism" or people who collaborate with "killers".

"I decided to renounce my Russian citizenship after Russia invasion of independent Ukraine," he wrote on Instagram in November. "I am against this war, and the killing of peaceful people."

The British Treasury on Thursday said: "The following entry has been removed from the consolidated list and is no longer subject to an asset freeze or trust services sanctions."

Former Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Virgin-founder Branson are among the high-profile figures to have come out in support of Tinkov.

The Times on Monday quoted Branson as writing: "I feel strongly that Mr Tinkov has been wrongly included on the list of sanctioned Russians.

"Whilst he was a wealthy Russian businessman he has never been an oligarch. I have always known him as a self-made dynamic entrepreneur. That is why I have liked and supported him and continue to do so."

A spokesperson for the British Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said it keeps all sanctions designations under review.

"Having considered all of the factors in this case, including the actions Mr Tinkov has taken following his sanctions designation, we have revoked his designation," the spokesperson said.

Law firm Corker Binning, which represented Tinkov, said it welcomed the decision.

Tinkov's lawyers said his opposition to the invasion had led Russia's government to force him into selling his 35% stake in Tinkoff-owner TCS Group to Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin.

The United States targeted 18 individuals and dozens of organisations, including Tinkoff Bank, in its latest Russia-related sanctions on Thursday.

Tinkoff had no immediate comment.

(Reporting by Alexander Marrow; additional reporting by William James;Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Angus MacSwan)

By Alexander Marrow

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Richard Branson

Telephony, music, finances, trains, airplanes or space exploration, the Virgin boss dares everything. A real bulimia which finds its roots in the aversion he has for the monopolies.

At sixteen, Branson creates the newspaper Students with the help of his friend Jonathan Holland Gems. Thanks to them, this newspaper becomes the mouthpiece for a generation of hippies opposed to the Vietnam War and engaged in the struggle for abortion rights.

At twenty, Richard Branson sold records by mail. Three years later he produced "Tubullar Bells" by Mike Oldfield which will be selected for the soundtrack of the movie The Exorcist. This enormous success attracts the best artists of the moment at Virgin Records as the Sex Pistols, Culture Club or Phil Collins.

Unformatted by business schools, the British businessman uses his intuition to engage in business more and more daring. Virgin Airways, Virgin Mobile to mention only the most important, show that there are no forbidden areas for the businessman the most admired of his generation. Icon in intuitive management, Richard Branson does not forget to be surrounded by the best persons in finance world as Gordon McCallum, a reference in the business world or Stephen Murphy, his Chief Financial officer and former of Unilever.

Some adventures such as cosmetics, clothing or vodka are failures but not for the businessman. When any other contractors consider these adventures as a failure, Richard Branson believes that these under achievements humanize the company and accentuate the friendly image of the boss.

Very sensitive to environmental issues, Richard Branson is hired to fight against global warming. In 2007 he gave twenty-five million dollars to reward initiatives that will be able to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

But his most ambitious project is the conquest of space. For this, he signed a contract of fifteen million pounds with an American company for the manufacture of spacecraft and partnered with Philippe Starck for VirginGalactic. The first Virgin flight in space was planned for 2009.
In fact, like Google, Richard Branson has endorsed the principle of "don’t be a evil" (do not hurt) fighting to humanely manage a business became enormous.

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