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A Russian billionaire who had a superyacht worth €530 million ($581m) seized by Italian police has said the war in Ukraine is tragic and that peace is “urgently” needed.
Andrey Melnichenko, who made his fortune in coal energy and fertiliser production, has become the latest high-profile billionaire to ask for attacks to stop.
Several of Russia’s richest businessmen have publicly called for peace since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion on February 24, including Mikhail Fridman, Pyotr Aven and Oleg Deripaska.
The US and its European allies have imposed sanctions on several Russian businessmen, frozen state assets and cut off much of the Russian corporate sector from the global economy to push Mr Putin to change course.
“The events in Ukraine are truly tragic. We urgently need peace,” Melnichenko, 50, told Reuters.
“One of the victims of this crisis will be agriculture and food,” he said.
Italian police took Melnichenko’s yacht, Sailing Yacht A, at the port of Trieste on Friday evening as part of seizures of oligarch wealth to pressure Mr Putin.
The vessel is 143 metres high, with an interior designed by Philippe Starck, and was built by Nobiskrug in Germany.
Melnichenko founded EuroChem, one of Russia’s biggest fertiliser producers, which moved to Zug, Switzerland, in 2015, and Suek, the country’s top coal producer.
The invasion of Ukraine has killed thousands, displaced about five million people and raised fears of a wider confrontation between Russia and the US, the world’s two biggest nuclear powers.
Melnichenko was born in Belarus and his mother is Ukrainian. He was 19 when the Soviet Union collapsed, and started trading foreign currency while studying physics at Moscow State University.
He founded MDM Bank but in the 1990s was still too minor to take part in the privatisations under President Boris Yeltsin which handed the choicest assets of a former superpower to a group of businessmen who would become known as the oligarchs owing to their political and economic clout.
Melnichenko began buying up often distressed coal and fertiliser assets. His fortune in 2021 was estimated by Forbes to be $18 billion, making him Russia’s eighth-richest man.
On Wednesday, the EU imposed sanctions on Melnichenko in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It said his attendance at a Kremlin meeting with Putin and 36 businessmen organised by the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs showed he was “one of the leading businesspersons involved in economic sectors”.
Melnichenko “has no relation to the tragic events in Ukraine. He has no political affiliations,” his spokesman said.
“To draw a parallel between attending a meeting through membership in a business council, just as dozens of business people from both Russia and Europe have done in the past, and undermining or threatening a country is absurd and nonsensical,” the spokesman said.
Melnichenko would dispute the sanctions, he said.
On March 9, Melnichenko resigned as member of the board and non-executive director in both EuroChem and Suek, and withdrew as their beneficiary, the spokesman said.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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6pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 – Group 1 (PA) $55,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Rajeh, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Musabah Al Muhairi (trainer)
6.35pm: Oud Metha Stakes – Rated Conditions (TB) $60,000 (D) 1,200m
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7.10pm: Jumeirah Classic – Listed (TB) $150,000 (Turf) 1,600m
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7.45pm: Firebreak Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,600m
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8.20pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 – Group 2 (TB) $350,000 (D) 1,900m
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8.55pm: Al Bastakiya Trial – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner: Withering, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
9.30pm: Balanchine – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner: Creative Flair, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
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Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
McIlroy's recent struggles
Last six stroke-play events (First round score in brackets)
Arnold Palmer Invitational Tied for 4th (74)
The US Masters Tied for 7th (72)
The Players Championship Tied for 35th (73)
US Open Missed the cut (78)
Travellers Championship Tied for 17th (67)
Irish Open Missed the cut (72)
UAE%20Warriors%2033%20Results
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