Mikhail Fridman, becomes first Russian Oligarch to speak out against invasion

Ukrainian-born financier and one of Russia’s richest men, Mikhail Fridman, has told employees at his private equity firm LetterOne that “war can never be the answer” and called for the “bloodshed” to end, the company says.

The billionaire Fridman, who divides his time between London and Moscow, is the first oligarch to speak out against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

“I do not make political statements, I am a businessman with responsibilities to my many thousands of employees in Russia and Ukraine,” Fridman says in a letter, whose contents were seen by the FT and confirmed to AFP by a company spokesman.

“I am convinced however that war can never be the answer. This crisis will cost lives and damage two nations who have been brothers for hundreds of years.”

“While a solution seems frighteningly far off, I can only join those whose fervent desire is for the bloodshed to end,” he tells staff at the firm, which has an office in London.

Forbes estimates Fridman’s fortune at $15.5 billion, and The Sunday Times last year ranked him as Britain’s 11th-richest man.

He co-founded Alfa-Bank, one of the largest private banks in Russia, in 1991.

Fellow oligarch Roman Abramovich on Saturday handed over control of Chelsea Football Club to trustees of its charitable foundation, hinting that he fears his assets in Britain are about to be frozen as the government imposes sanctions on a “hit-list” of Kremlin-linked tycoons.