Fiona Govan
THE oligarch behind Spain’s Dia supermarket chain has moaned about the hardships of not being able to access his fortune since sanctions were imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Mikhail Fridman, who has an estimated fortune in excess of $10 billion told the Spanish newspaper El País this week that he was “practically under house arrest”.
The businessman, who is based in London, said he was unable to access his bank accounts and his credit cards have been blocked.
The 57-year-old said he had applied for permission to access funds to pay for his living costs but that if it were to be successful he could only withdraw £ 2,500 a month.
He complained that such a stipend was barely ‘enough to live a normal life without excesses’.
“I can’t even take anyone out to a restaurant. I have to eat at home and I am practically under house arrest,” he told El Pais.
Home is the sprawling Victorian mansion Athlone House in Highgate which Fridman purchased in 2016 for an eye-watering £ 65 million.
He expressed how unfair he felt it was that oligarchs have been targeted by sanctions.
“targeting private entrepreneurs make no sense, because the majority of them have built their business through talent, effort and personal qualifications,” he said adding that the idea they might be able to influence Putin into calling off the war was ‘idiotic’.
Fridman co-founded LIHS who hold 78% of shares in the Dia supermarket chain in Spain.
The struggling retailer reported a €257 million loss for 2021 across its outlets in Spain, Argentina, Brazil, and Portugal, after an intensive period of restructuring and store closure.
READ MORE:
- Olive Press Opinion: When it comes to Russian oligarchs, Spain must do its homework
- CHATEAU PUTIN: Who owns the lavish villa in the hills above Marbella on Spain’s Costa del Sol?
- Struggling Dia supermarket chain in Spain unfazed by EU blacklist of Russian oligarch owner
