As this terrible war continues to ravage Ukraine and its people, the board of LetterOne is taking all action necessary to protect the 120,000 jobs LetterOne’s investments support and to help people in desperate need in Ukraine.
Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven’s shareholdings are frozen indefinitely and they cannot receive dividends or any other financial benefit from LetterOne.
Today we announce further steps. German Khan, Alexey Kuzmichev and Andrei Kosogov have resigned from all positions at LetterOne, including the board. None of these three individuals has been sanctioned, but they believe that this is the right thing to do in the long-term interests of LetterOne its employees and the many jobs it supports in its portfolio companies.
In addition, the board have decided to make a substantial donation of $150 million to support the urgent work underway to help those affected by the war in Ukraine. We know that everyone at LetterOne, including our founders, support this action. We will announce further long-term funding plans soon.
This means that LetterOne’s shareholders have agreed not to benefit from LetterOne’s business activities and will cease to have any day-to-day involvement in them. We will now focus all our efforts on supporting the businesses we own and invest in, and the many people working for them in communities across the UK, Europe and the US.
L1 will work with stakeholders to ensure this money will have the maximum possible impact.
Mervyn Davies, Chairman of LetterOne said:
“The new board and I will focus on protecting the enormous economic and social contribution LetterOne makes. I am also determined to ensure that the 120,000 jobs throughout the UK US and Europe are protected. We know that everyone involved in L1, including our founders, would want us to take these steps given their love and passion for and heritage in Ukraine.“