Russian businessman, co-founder of Alfa-Group Mikhail Fridman attends a conference of the Israeli Keren Hayesod foundation in Moscow on September 17, 2019. (AFP Photo)
September 23, 2026 09:43 AM GMT+03:00
The European Union removed Russian-Israeli billionaire Mikhail Fridman, whose investment group LetterOne indirectly holds a 19.8% stake in Türkiye’s state-run telecom company Turkcell, from its sanctions list, along with Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov.
EU ambassadors reached the agreement in Brussels on Tuesday, extending restrictions on roughly 3,000 Russian individuals and entities for 36 months after weeks of discussions over whether to renew the bloc’s Russia sanctions, an Official Journal of the EU statement showed.
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EU sanctions lifted on Fridman
The EU first sanctioned Fridman in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Luxembourg backed Fridman’s removal from the sanctions list after he launched legal proceedings seeking access to his frozen assets.
Fridman, who has interests in banking, energy, telecommunications, healthcare and retail, has been indirectly linked to Turkcell through LetterOne since 2014.
In 2020, LetterOne increased its stake from 13.2% to 24.8% as part of the ownership restructuring, while Türkiye Wealth Fund (TWF) acquired a 26.2% controlling stake. LetterOne later sold 5% of Turkcell, leaving it with a 19.8% stake held through wholly owned IMTIS Holdings.
In 2025, Bloomberg reported that TWF was considering acquiring LetterOne’s 19.8% stake in Turkcell, as the sovereign wealth fund privately raised concerns about potential sanctions risks to the company. However, the talks did not lead to a deal.
File photo shows Türkiyes leading telecommunication company, Turkcells headquarters in Istanbul, Türkiye. (IHA Photo)
Slovakia and France back Usmanov delisting
Slovakia and France have also pushed to remove Usmanov from the sanctions list. The Uzbek-born billionaire is the largest shareholder of USM Holdings, a conglomerate with interests in metals and mining, telecommunications and technology.
Its assets include iron ore and steel producer Metalloinvest, copper producer Udokan Copper, cement maker Akkerman Cement and mobile operator MegaFon. Usmanov has also held significant interests in Russia’s internet and media businesses, including Mail.Ru and VKontakte, as well as the newspaper Kommersant.
Latvia, which had opposed removing Fridman and Usmanov from the sanctions list, abstained in the final process, allowing the broader sanctions package to move forward.
Under the EU’s individual sanctions regime, assets belonging to listed people and entities are frozen, while individuals are also subject to travel bans.
September 23, 2026 09:49 AM GMT+03:00