OREANDA-NEWS Billionaires Mikhail Fridman and Peter Aven "in the near future" will resign from the board of directors of Alfa-Bank because of the sanctions imposed against them. Businessmen Alexander Galitsky and Sergey Matsotsky will leave the council together with them. On February 28, against the background of the ongoing Russian "special operation" in Ukraine, the EU blacklisted a number of businessmen, military personnel and public figures.

The press service of Alfa-Bank reported that the board of directors will be headed by the president of the credit institution Oleg Sysuev, who previously held the position of first deputy chairman.

Mikhail Fridman also resigned from the board of directors of Veon, the owner of the Vimpelcom mobile operator (Beeline brand). Friedman has been a member of the board of directors of Veon since 2010, 47.9% of the shares of Veon belong to LetterOne, which is part of the Alfa Group of Mikhail Friedman and partners.

After the start of the "operation" of the Russian army in Ukraine, Western countries imposed new sanctions. Among them are personal restrictions on high-ranking officials, including President Vladimir Putin. Also blacklisted were large businessmen, military, parliamentarians and cultural figures.

Earlier, The Secret wrote that the government would spend part of the National Welfare Fund to buy shares of Russian companies. In 2022, up to 1 trillion rubles will be allocated for these purposes.