In his Telegram channel, Volkov wrote that he considers the removal of Mikhail Fridman from the sanctions list a mistake because, according to him, the businessman did not have to take any public steps against the Putin regime.
He added that four years ago he proposed clear and transparent mechanisms for such entrepreneurs to get out from under sanctions in exchange for concrete actions: from a public condemnation of the war to substantial aid to Ukraine. According to Volkov, this option would have been realistic if such mechanisms had been created in time.
Volkov called the lifting of sanctions on Alisher Usmanov not just a mistake, but a “moral catastrophe”. He stated that Usmanov is considered one of the key pro-Kremlin oligarchs and that his removal from the list was achieved “by taking hostages”.
Volkov also said that in this story only Latvia resisted the “capitulation of Europe before Putin’s oligarchs”.
His position was supported by Yulia Navalnaya. She wrote that for Europe, in her opinion, money and connections matter more than attitudes toward the war and Putin, and contrasted wealthy Russians with those who left because of political persecution or mobilization.
In 2022, Volkov signed a letter to the European Commission asking to lift sanctions against Fridman and other top managers of Alfa Group. In the letter, he proposed a “clear and simple set of criteria” for removal from the sanctions list, including a public condemnation of the war, compensation for damages, and a break with Putin and his regime. After the letter became known in 2023, Volkov stepped down as head of the international FBK — ACF International, but remained one of the foundation’s key figures.
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