Belgian tacks of billionaire Lisin
Vladimir Lisin, who was the top billionaire in Russia according to Forbes last year, managed to avoid being subjected to EU sanctions because some European countries, including Belgium where he owns two businesses, didn't support the sanctions.
The European Union chose not to impose sanctions on Vladimir Lisin, who is considered the richest billionaire in Russia according to Forbes 2022, because of the stance taken by certain member countries, as reported by EUobserver, citing diplomatic sources.
According to EUobserver, Belgium specifically opposed imposing sanctions on Lisin. The country is home to two NLMK plants, a steel company controlled by Lisin. These factories provide jobs for around 1,200 people, as mentioned by EUobserver.
NLMK also operates in Denmark, France, Italy, and the United States, as indicated on the company website. The Belgian mission to the EU declined to comment due to the highly confidential nature of internal negotiations on sanctions. The Danish mission neither confirmed nor denied blocking EU action against Lisin, similar to Belgium. France and Italy opted not to comment.
Belgium previously objected to EU sanctions on Russian diamonds due to the significant trade volume in Antwerp, which would lead to the loss of approximately 10,000 jobs. De Cros mentioned that Brussels is collaborating with partners to prevent access to Western markets for Russian diamonds.
At present, Lisin is only facing sanctions from Australia. NLMK's representatives emphasized that the company has never been involved in supplying military products. The company's press service stressed that NLMK's Russian facilities are incapable of producing military steel.
In spring 2022, Vladimir Lisin topped Forbes' list of the wealthiest Russians with an estimated fortune of $18.4 billion. He currently holds the third position in the Forbes Real-Time ranking, which is updated based on stock quotes. As of March 3, Lisin's fortune is valued at $24.2 billion.
On March 3, NLMK shares rose by 0.6% during trading, reaching 126.88 rubles (as of 14:25 Moscow time) according to data from the Moscow Exchange.
