EU will lift sanctions on Volozh - Reuters

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The European Union will not extend sanctions against Yandex founder Arkady Volozh when reviewed on March 15, Reuters writes , citing several sources. Along with him, sanctions will be lifted from two more Russians. It is not yet clear who this is. The decision regarding Volozh was influenced by his final separation from Russian business, agency sources say.

• Volozh was included in the EU sanctions list in June 2022. Officially, this was argued by the fact that the company’s shareholders and investors are state banks Sber and VTB, and that the company itself is responsible for promoting Russian state media and narratives, as well as silencing content critical of the Kremlin, including those related to Russian aggression in Ukraine.
• In August 2023, Volozh released a statement in which he came out "categorically against Russia's barbaric invasion of Ukraine" and admitted his share of responsibility for Russia's actions. From the first months of the war, Volozh, who lives in Israel, negotiated the division of Yandex in order to develop part of his business abroad. In February 2024, the company’s shareholders agreed on a deal, as a result of which the Dutch Yandex NV, controlled by Volozh, sold its Russian business.