Oligarch’s daughters condemn Ukraine war but still sanctioned by Canada

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Two daughters of an oligarch once ranked the second-richest man in Russia and considered part of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle have lost their bid to be removed from Canada’s sanction’s list, even though they declared in court they oppose Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The two daughters of Mikhail Maratovich Fridman, a multi-billionaire and co-founder of Russia’s largest private bank, claim the listing is unfair as they have not lived in Russia since 1999 and are financially independent of their father.

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Laura Fridman, about 31, and Katia Fridman, about 28, are the eldest of his four children.

The Fridman patriarch was placed on Canada’s Russia sanctions list two months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. He was identified by Canada as “a top Russian financier and associate of President Putin,” and deemed an enabler of Russia’s war effort. Ottawa’s sanctioning included him on a list of “oligarchs” and “close associates of the regime.”

His two daughters and their mother, Olga Ayziman, were added to the sanctions list as his family members a month later. All three women appealed to the Canadian government to be taken off the list, claiming financial independence.

Their mother was delisted last year, likely, the court said, because she had been separated from Mikhail Fridman since 1999 and divorced since 2005 and was no longer considered close family.

Ottawa dismissed the daughters’ requests so the two women launched separate challenges in Federal Court in 2023 to try to force the issue.

Mikhail Fridman, born in Ukraine, is the co-founder of the Alfa Group, a multinational Russian conglomerate that includes the Alfa Bank, court heard. The company includes a chain of supermarkets and other retail outlets, a TV station, and huge industrial investment holdings.

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He has not challenged his sanctions listing in Canada and did not participate in his daughters’ court challenges.

He has, however, been fighting in court in Europe against sanctions placed on him by the European Union. When hit by sanctions in 2022, he reportedly stepped down from the board of Alfa Group and other firms so the companies might avoid sanctions. He had been ranked in 2016 as Russia’s second- richest man by Forbes, but by 2023 sanctions seemed to have taken a toll; he dropped to ninth place.

I absolutely oppose the war in Ukraine, the Russian invasion, and Putin’s regime

In court in Canada, his daughters said their father’s estimated net worth was $12.8 billion.

The women also declared opposition to Russia’s invasion as part of their request for delisting.

“I absolutely oppose the war in Ukraine, the Russian invasion, and Putin’s regime. I strongly believe in Ukraine’s right to self-determination and hope to see it become a part of the European Union one day,” Katia Fridman said in an affidavit sworn in France in 2022.

Laura Fridman, in her affidavit sworn in Israel in 2022, said she too opposes the Russian invasion and says she has little connection to Russia: “I own no property in Russia, have never paid taxes in Russia, and other than a brief period when I was six years old, have only visited Russia on rare occasions.”

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After they launched their legal challenges, they applied for a confidentiality order from the court to redact their opposition to the war. The court denied the requests because their statements were already public.

Judge Henry Brown sounded skeptical in his ruling, saying “it seems they did not say so until they began these matters.”

They are not, Brown found, estranged from their father.

Lawyers for the two women showed Brown news stories from Russia published in 2016 quoting their father promising to leave his fortune to charity, not his children — he added it was not because of altruism, but to protect them.

“I don’t plan to transfer any money to my children,” Fridman is quoted saying, because he wants them to build something on their own, like he did, and said giving young people so much money risks ruining their lives. He also has two younger sons.

Both women, however, said they received some financial support from him in recent years, before their sanctions listing: gifts of money, support for rent, education, and other expenses.

Katia Fridman said she received occasional transfers for living expenses of between US$10,000 and US$50,000, and gifts of around US$10,000 on special occasions. She did not tally how much she had received. Laura Fridman declared financial support from her father totalling $100,000 a year in 2020 and 2021.

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They have since been “financially independent,” they said. They said their father kept his family and business separate.

Brown said the court learned little throughout the proceedings about the two women’s relationship with their father, which was problematic for their case.

“We know virtually nothing about the closeness or nature of the father-daughter relationships. Mr. Fridman filed no direct evidence to assist,” Brown’s judgment says. Mikhail Fridman remained “silent” throughout the proceedings.

The court didn’t know if they had a loving and caring relationship, if they saw each other, had mutual friends, or texted or called each other.

“While a central issue in this case is the prospective risk Mr. Fridman will evade sanction using the Applicants, there is no direct evidence from him regarding the closeness or otherwise of his relationship with his daughters.

“There is also some evidence he and his daughters have a normal relationship. He says nothing about respecting or evading Canadian sanctions on him. Indeed, the father gave no direct evidence at all, saying nothing about the prospect of his evading sanctions, and nothing with respect to his support of Russia’s war in Ukraine.”

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The women’s lawyers, Stephanie Desjardins and Michelle Folinas of Tereposky & Derose LLP, argued the court case was “not about him,” but about the two women.

We know virtually nothing about the closeness or nature of the father-daughter relationships

Laura and Katia Fridman were both born in France; Laura in 1993 and Katia in 1996. Their parents separated when they were young, and they largely lived with their mother until leaving home.

Neither daughter has Canadian citizenship nor immigration status in Canada. In fact, court found no connection to Canada, and neither of them was present at their hearing, which allowed for video-connection. They are dual citizens of Russia and France; Laura Fridman is also a citizen of Israel.

Katia Fridman has two degrees from Ivy League universities in the United States and previously worked in the U.S. as a consultant. Laura Fridman also has a U.S. Ivy League degree and then trained and worked as a ballet dancer. She told court she worked multiple jobs to pay for her training herself. During COVID she turned to painting and digital art and has had works in gallery shows.

Court heard that sanctions were meant to impose economic cost on Russia for the war; show Canada’s condemnation of Russia’s actions; and align with Canada’s allies and partners on action targeting Russia.

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Sanctions were first imposed on Russian officials in 2014 after Russia’s occupation of Crimea when Canada passed the Special Economic Measures Act, known as “SEMA.” It made it illegal for Canadians and anyone in Canada to engage in financial transactions or services with any of the listed persons or their property.

In response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Canada imposed wider sanctions against Russian officials and others whose support was deemed to facilitate the war effort, as well as associates of key government officials.

To prevent those on the list from easily evading sanctions by transferring assets to family members, sanctions were expanded to include close relatives of those listed.

More than 2,000 names have been placed on Canada’s Russian sanctions list since the 2022 invasion.

Andreas Weichert, director of Global Affairs Canada’s Eastern Europe and Eurasia division, gave evidence in court for Ottawa’s defence.

“Despite the comprehensive sanctions imposed by Canada and the international partners on Russia since 2014, several sanctioned Russian elites have managed to evade sanctions and maintain access to funds through various evasion tactics, most notably the transfer of assets to family members and close associates,” Weichert said in an affidavit.

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Names are added to the list, court heard, by the Governor in Council, (the Governor General acting at the request of the federal cabinet) on the recommendation of the minister of foreign affairs.

Katia and Laura Fridman did not challenge the constitutionality of SEMA or the Russian Regulations list, just their names being on it.

Brown’s judgment and reasons were published Wednesday. “In my respectful view, the Minister reasonably concluded in the circumstances that the Applicants had not established ‘reasonable grounds to recommend’ their delisting. Therefore, the applications will be dismissed,” Brown wrote.

Their lawyer, Desjardins, declined to comment.

• Email: ahumphreys@postmedia.com | X: AD_Humphreys

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