Rapid grocer Getir has told The Grocer the UK government sanctioning of oligarch Vladimir Potanin, Russia’s second-richest man and “key supporter of the Kremlin”, will not affect its funding.
Getir raised $550m in a Series D investment round from several backers in June last year, among them Moscow-based Winter Capital. Winter Capital is backed in part by one of the largest private investment companies in Russia, Interros. Interros is run by Potanin.
The links between Potanin and quick commerce firm Getir were first reported by The Grocer in March.
Potanin was named by the Foreign Office last week as one of several Russians to be hit by sanctions in a bid to “hit Putin’s inner circle”.
The new sanctions on Potanin – announced on Wednesday – include an asset freeze that prevents any business in the UK “from dealing with any funds or economic resources which are owned, held or controlled by the designated person”.
Getir told The Grocer Winter Capital had a 0.45% minority stake in the business. However, the company said officers from Winter Capital had “confirmed that it currently has no direct or indirect relationship to Vladimir Potanin”.
Winter Capital told The Grocer earlier this year that Interros was not a limited partner and so had “no economic ownership nor ability to exercise any type of management rights”. The investment firm, which has total assets under management exceeding $1bn, added that it “has always been and remains so under the sole control of the investment team”. On its website, Interros says it is not a shareholder in Winter Capital but “acts as its major investor”.
“Based on the legal advice we have received from our external counsel, Winter Capital is not subject to the sanctions announced by the UK government,” Turancan Salur, Getir general manager, Europe, told The Grocer.
“Therefore, at this stage, by law Getir cannot take any action. Getir always operates respectful to the laws and regulations of the country in which it operates. As such, in the future, we will also continue to take the measures necessary to ensure Getir’s compliance,” he added.
Earlier this year flyers were handed out in Berlin calling for Getir customers to boycott the business due to its alleged links to Potanin.
The Foreign Office said Potanin “continues to amass wealth as he supports Putin’s regime”, having acquired Rosbank, and shares in Tinkoff Bank in the period since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Anna Tsivileva, Putin’s first cousin once removed and president of a prominent Russian coal mining company, and her husband, were also hit by fresh sanctions.
“As long as Putin continues his abhorrent assault on Ukraine, we will use sanctions to weaken the Russian war machine,” a government spokesman said. “[These] sanctions show that nothing and no one is off the table, including Putin’s inner circle.”
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