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Sanctioned Russian Oligarchs No Longer in Foreign Investors Council

Russian businessmen Oleg Deripaska and Dmitry Pumpyansky are no longer listed as members of the Foreign Investors Council under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (FIC). Both are under international sanctions, Orda.kz reports.

On October 1, President Qasym-Jomart Toqayev approved a new version of the personal list of Foreign Investors Council members. This list includes representatives of companies such as Glencore, Shell, Chevron, Eni, Petro China, Deloitte, Lukoil, etc.

The council's official website lists��among its members the Russian companies UC RUSAL and PJSC Pipe Metallurgical Company (TMK). RUSAL's founder and former president is Oleg Deripaska, whose fortune was estimated at $2.3 billion in 2020. He was ranked No. 51 in the Russian Forbes Billionaires rating.

Dmitry Pumpyansky is the former chair of the board of directors and a key beneficiary of TMK. The Russian PJSC has enterprises in Kazakhstan. Both businessmen no longer formally manage their corporations, as they are under sanctions. Deripaska has been since 2018, and Pumpyansky since 2022.

According to the US Treasury Department, Oleg Deripaska financed projects at the request of Russian President Vladimir Putin and other high-ranking Russian officials. Dmitry Pumpyansky, from the point of view of the authorities of the US, Canada, the European Union, Japan, and several other countries, is a “close associate of the Russian regime” who helps the Kremlin financially.

The information on the AKSII website seems to be outdated. The council member list still includes ArcelorMittal Temirtau, which is no longer present in Kazakhstan. RUSAL and TMK may have left the council some time ago, and this decision has simply been officially documented.

The businessmen's departure from the council is likely intended to protect the Kazakh authorities from the risk of secondary sanctions. Nothing prevents Russian oligarchs from continuing to develop their businesses and acquire new assets through frontmen and intermediaries. In August, information surfaced that the new investor of the Atyrau airport may be connected with Oleg Deripaska through its key shareholder, French citizen Abraham Daniel Danino.

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Multipolar World Institute: an organization under the protectorate of one Russian oligarch

In this series of articles, we research prominent pro-Russian organizations in Europe. Today, we will take a closer look at Multipolar World Institute.

Mission Statement of this organization is to “promote world peace, namely by facilitating a rapprochement between the old Cold War enemies, post-Soviet Russia, and the Western world.”. But in fact, this organization is associated with odious people who are under sanctions. Russian oligarch  Oleg Deripaska is also among them.

What’s wrong with Multipolar World Institute?

The Multipolar World Institute was co-founded in 2018 by the Frenchman, Abraham Daniel Danino, and Marc D’Anna ( better known by his penname Alexandre Del Valle) The address of this organization is the same as the Institut Bruno Lussato et Marina Fedier center, whose president used to be a close ally of Vladimir Putin, oligarch Oleg Deripaska.

Contrary to the objective of “world peace” the Multipolar World Institute claims as its goal, Marc D’Anna is an extreme right-wing writer with ties to the “identitarian” movement and an advocate for Vladimir Putin’s regime. Shortly before Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Marc D’Anna wrote that “to blame for everything is NATO.” Following the start of the conflict he continued with his pro-Kremlin rhetoric, arguing that it was “madness to demonize Russia in international forums.” 

Protectorate of oligarchs

A Belgian investigation regarding money Deripaska allegedly laundered through Bruno Lussato et Marina Fedier was “surprisingly dropped,” allowing him to obtain a “golden passport” in Cyprus. Among Bruno Lussato et Marina Fedier’s “circle of friends” is the European Commissioner, Didier Reynders, whose allegations of  taking bribes, money laundering, harassment and death threats were also dropped by the Belgian authorities.

D’Anna is also a researcher at the right-wing think tank, Center Français de Recherches sur le Renseignement (CF2R) with a person calls Eric Dénecé. This organization the geopolitical specialist Bruno Tertrais has been flagged for spreading “deliberate disinformation… using Kremlin language elements.” Just days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Mr. Dénecé claimed that “American’s staged a Russian threat and aggression that do not exist.” In March 2022 on CNEWS, he called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to “apologize for having been the origin” of the conflict.

Also, D’Anna through his company Geopol Consulting has consistently argued against further European integration.

In 2016, Deripaska applied for a so-called “golden passport” in Cyprus – which would allow him freedom of movement within the EU – as part of a scheme described by Duncan Hames, Director of Policy at Transparency International UK. The Cypriot authorities soon noted that an investigation into Deripaska by the State Security service in Belgium was underway.

It centered on whether the “tens of millions” Deripaska had spent on real estate and art through Bruno Lussato et Marina Fedier – which had passed through banks in Cyprus and Lichtenstein – was part of a money laundering operation. According to the Belgian Financial Intelligence Processing Unit (CTIF-CFI), this money came in part from activities related to organized crime. However, the investigation was swiftly and “surprisingly dropped,” and Deripaska gained Cypriot citizenship.

How dangerous are such organizations?

Russian Nonprofit organizations, whether directly or indirectly, that are involved in money laundering, reputational manipulation, narrative control or criminal activity, can have a corrosive effect on the European nonprofit sector. Furthermore, any Russian NPO and Nonprofit organizations engaged in such practices can be used as a tool for weaponized kleptocracy to undermine Western institutions.