Former UK Commerce Secretary Mervyn Davies will take over the reins of the investment firm. He confirmed for Financial time that both oligarchs have resigned from the council.

Earlier this week, the EU imposed sanctions on Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven, which was a direct consequence of their resignation.

According to Davis, Fridman and Aven have agreed not to be involved in the business. He also said that their holdings are now frozen, and that they don’t want any rights, or rights to dividends. They also don’t want the opportunity to sell the shares they own.

Fridman said this was “the right thing to do for the company”, according to the paper.

Shop owner at Wintershall DEA

Both own just under 50 percent of the investment firm, which led to it evading sanctions, according to the FT.

Letterone is a major shareholder in Wintershall DEA, and owns according to Upstream 33 percent stake in oil companies. The oil company is one of the biggest players on the Norwegian shelf, and has also been involved in the development of the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

Earlier Wednesday, DEA Wintershall announced billions in losses related to the pipeline, for which German authorities halted the approval process before the weekend.

Ukrainian bank will «transfer shares»

Apart from holdings in Letterone, Fridman and Aven are also major owners in Ukrainian bank Alfa Bank. The bank said earlier Wednesday that it would “transfer shares” held by persons subject to international sanctions “to other holdings”, according to Reuters.

The bank said that it is in negotiations with large Polish and Ukrainian companies, as well as private investors regarding a “share transfer”, without providing further details on what this means in practice.

When the European Union introduced sanctions, unions took a hard line against Fridman and Aven. The justification stated that the two were “involved in the Kremlin’s efforts to lift Western sanctions” previously imposed on Russia.

“In 2018, Fridman and Aven visited Washington on an unofficial mission to convey the message of the Russian government about US sanctions, and retaliatory sanctions from Russia,” the EU wrote.