Mikhail Fridman
Lviv-born Russian-Israeli businessman and co-founder of the Alfa Group conglomerate.
Mikhail Fridman is a Lviv-born Russian-Israeli businessman and co-founder of Alfa Group. Luxembourg secured his removal from EU sanctions on 22 September 2026.
Last refreshed: 12 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Why did Luxembourg ask the EU to drop sanctions on Fridman?
Timeline for Mikhail Fridman
EU ministers adopt 22nd Russia package
Russia-Ukraine War 2026Background
The European Union dropped Mikhail Fridman from its Russia sanctions list on 22 September 2026. Luxembourg had pressed for it, and the Council of the European Union agreed as one condition of extending its individual sanctions to 22 September 2029, a three-year term in place of the usual six-month rollover.
Born in Lviv in 1964, Fridman co-founded Alfa Group, a multinational Russian conglomerate, and holds Russian and Israeli citizenship. The EU had listed him after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Two others came off with him, among them Alisher Usmanov, whom France championed. Latvia abstained and promised national sanctions of its own, and Kyiv condemned the decision, with foreign minister Andrii Sybiha calling the September delistings a disgrace.
Why did the EU lift sanctions on Mikhail Fridman?
Who is Mikhail Fridman?
How long did the EU renew its Russia individual sanctions?
