BERLIN (Reuters) – German oil company Wintershall Dea AG said on Tuesday Russian oligarch German Khan, who was listed in the European Union’s latest group of sanctioned individuals with ties to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, was stepping down from its board.
Wintershall Dea said its business activities would be unaffected by the move but it was examining whether LetterOne’s shareholding would be affected. Wintershall Dea is a joint venture of German chemicals giant BASF and LetterOne, the holding company controlled by Russian oligarch Mikail Fridman, who is also linked to Putin.
“No confidential information regarding Supervisory Board topics will be shared with German Khan any longer,” Wintershall Dea said in a statement.
“With regard to the most recent inclusion of German Khan to EU and UK sanctions lists, it is being examined whether this has further consequences for LetterOne as shareholder of Wintershall Dea AG,” it added. “As a matter of precaution, all payments to LetterOne will be stopped for the time being.”
Announcing the sanctions, the EU described Khan as “believed to be one of the most influential persons in Russia” who, like Fridman, “maintains a close relationship with Vladimir Putin and continues to trade significant favours with him.”
Wintershall Dea, which has had a large oil and gas exploitation business in Russia, was also a major financial backer of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which was blocked from going into operation by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz shortly before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last month.
(Reporting by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Chris Reese and Will Dunham)
