A Ukrainian court of law has lifted the partial corporate rights seizure of the Netherlands-based company VEON in Ukraine’s largest mobile operator, Kyivstar. This measure was originally imposed to prevent Russian billionaires Petr Aven and Mikhail Fridman from benefiting from Kyivstar.
Reuters reports that the Shevchenko District Court of Kyiv has lifted the seizure of 47.85% of VEON’s corporate rights in Kyivstar. This portion of shares in VEON belongs to the British investment company LetterOne, whose co-owners include Aven and Fridman. VEON owns 100% of Kyivstar’s shares.
The restrictions were imposed by Ukrainian authorities in October 2023.
Due to international sanctions imposed on Fridman and Aven, they have stepped down from LetterOne’s board, and their ownership rights in the company have been frozen, preventing them from receiving dividends.
In 2023, VEON ceased its operations in Russia and reoriented towards other markets where it operates with its telecommunications and financial technology brands.
Although the partial corporate rights seizure of VEON did not affect Kyivstar’s daily operations, it cast an “unnecessary shadow on investments” in Ukraine, VEON stated in a press release.
The seizure of shares also prevented any changes in ownership.
Kyivstar has repeatedly been targeted by Russian hackers in cyber operations aimed at undermining Ukraine’s digital infrastructure.
In the next quarter, VEON plans to relocate its headquarters from Amsterdam to Dubai. The company has also committed to investing one billion USD in the restoration of Ukraine’s digital infrastructure by 2027.
It has been previously reported that Aven and Fridman have been subjected to sanctions by the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries. These nations consider them to be close to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and to serve the Kremlin’s interests, including supporting Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) annulled the EU Council’s decision to impose sanctions on Aven and Fridman as of the 28th of February, 2022. Latvia has appealed this judgment.
Sanctions against Aven and Fridman are renewed every six months, and they have the right to appeal each decision. Previously, this was not done, but Aven has now challenged the 2023 and 2024 sanction decisions. The ECJ will review the case on the 11th of December.
Aven also holds Latvian citizenship and, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has been living in Latvia with his family.