Arkady Volozh, co-founder of Russian tech giant Yandex, has formally requested that the EU lift sanctions against him in the first big test of whether the bloc will reward prominent figures who publicly break with the Kremlin.
Lawyers for Volozh petitioned the EU to repeal the measures days after Volozh condemned Vladimir Putin’s ‘barbaric’ invasion of Ukraine, according to people familiar with the move. The request will be discussed by EU officials next month.
Volozh’s request comes after he became only the second prominent Russian billionaire to unreservedly denounce the war in Ukraine earlier this month, prompting calls from diplomats, officials and other sanctioned individuals for the EU to respond.