Against the backdrop of the decision of the European Commission, Arkady Volozh announced that he was leaving the post of CEO of the company.
On Friday, June 3, the sixth package of EU restrictions against the Russian Federation, as well as companies, citizens and individuals acting in the interests of the Russian leadership, came into force. Arkady Volozh, the founder and CEO of Yandex, was included in the sanctions list. After the publication of documents on new restrictions by the EU, the company’s shares collapsed, and its creator left the board of directors. About this writes the publication RBC.
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The EU noted that Volozh works in sectors of the economy that provided significant income for the Russian authorities. Also, according to European officials, the founder of Yandex financially supports the Russian government and is responsible for supporting policies that destabilize Ukraine.
The company’s shareholders and investors are Russian state-owned banks such as Sberbank and VTB. The Russian authorities can directly influence its activities through the Public Interest Fund, which owns the “golden share” of the Russian technology giant, the document says.
“Yandex is also responsible for promoting state-owned media and narratives in search results, as well as downgrading and removing content critical of the Kremlin, such as content related to Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine,” the justification for sanctions against Volozh says.
After the announcement of restrictions on the founder of Yandex, the value of the company’s shares collapsed – by 15:47 Kyiv time, the security fell by 5.8%, to 1,500 rubles. By 16:40, the fall was 14.17% to 1366.4 rubles.
In turn, Volozh announced that he was leaving the board of directors and the post of CEO of Yandex, assuring that he “will continue to help the company and its team.” The businessman called the decision of the European Commission “illogical”.
The company itself said that “unfair” EU sanctions against Volozh will not affect its work.
“Millions of our users will continue to search and find information, use taxi services and deliver goods, food and medicine, watch movies, listen to music, study and do much more with the help of Yandex,” the statement said.