The UK has blocked a €5bn deal by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman to acquire gasfields in the North Sea, as even private Russian companies with no connection to President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle fall victim to the chill between Moscow and the west.
The British government’s move shows that the impact of US and EU sanctions, which have targeted Russia’s energy, banking and defence industries, is spreading beyond Kremlin-controlled groups to oligarchs with western ties.
Mr Fridman’s attempt to buy RWE Dea, the oil and gas arm of German utility RWE, could be subject to big delays or might even collapse, according to people close to the deal.