Safmar Financial Investments says unaffected by sanctions against Gutseriev
MOSCOW. July 6 (Interfax) -Safmar Financial Investments (SFI) is unaffected by the EU sanctions against Mikhail Gutseriev, the company said in a statement, quoting the opinions of several leading international law firms.
"The EU designated Gutseriev as an individual subject to EU sanctions on June 21. The reasons for listing in respect of Mr. Mikhail Gutseriev include reference to 'SAFMAR'. Nonetheless, SAFMAR Financial investments itself is not designated as an entity subject to EU sanctions. Furthermore, the use of the 'SAFMAR' brand is not an attribute of a company being either owned or controlled by Mr. Mikhail Gutseriev," SFI said.
"The Company has taken independent legal advice which confirms that neither the Company nor its subsidiaries are subject to sanctions under EU law. Based on the review and consideration of extensive due diligence information, the legal advice concludes that Mikhail Gutseriev holds no ownership interest in the Company and does not exercise any control over the Company or its subsidiaries," SFI said.
"As such, the EU's recent imposition of restrictive measures on certain individuals and entities does not extend to SFI. The Company and its subsidiaries continue to operate fully and without interruption," it said.
"Where appropriate, the Company will provide its counterparties with further details concerning the legal position of SFI under EU sanctions," it said.
The EU imposed a fourth package of sanctions against Belarus on June 21. The sanctions list included Russian businessman Gutseriev. The restrictive measures are being imposed on him due to his support for Minsk.
Inclusion in the list means assets owned or controlled by Gutseriev on the territory of the EU must be frozen, while he himself loses the right to enter the union's territory. On top of this, citizens and companies of the EU are prohibited from providing funds to persons and entities included in the sanctions list.
The United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States also imposed sanctions on Belarus due to the forced landing of a Ryanair plane; however, Gutseriev was not included in their lists.
Gutseriev is the principal shareholder and chairman of the board of directors of Safmar Group. The group includes major Russian oil producing and refining companies RussNeft, Neftisa, Forteinvest, Sladkovsko-Zarechnoye, Afipsky Refinery, Kuzbass Fuel Company (KTK) , as well as coal holding Russian Coal, Slavkali, which is implementing an investment project in Belarus to build the Nezhinsky mine and processing plant, Mospromstroy, A101, and other companies.
Weridge Investments holds 34.3% of Safmar Financial Investments and Barigton Holdings Limited has 19.9%. Said Gutseriev's Daglis owns 13.6% and Lanbury Trading Limited, another company controlled by Gutseriev, owns 16.7%; and the insure VSK holds 1.7%. Another 3% of shares are held in treasury and the free float is 11.7%.
Safmar Financial Investments owns 11.1% of oil producer RussNeft - 1.5% directly and 9.6% via Weridge Investments Limited. It also owns 49% of VSK; 100% of leasing company Europlan; 10% of consumer electronics retailer M.Video ; 100% of Mospromstroy-Fund, a small pension fund; 87.5% of Direct Credit Center, a fintech company that develops and provides POS credit services, and 51% of cloud gaming service GFN.RU.