Three Jewish oligarchs suspected of having ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin have resigned from a major charity they founded after being hit by sanctions following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to a statement from the Genesis group.
Michael Friedman, Peter Aven and German Hahn will resign from their roles in the Genesis Philanthropy Group (GPG), the announcement said.
“In order to allow the group to remain faithful to its mission and build on the foundations we have created over the past 15 years, all three have resigned from the board,” the group said in a statement.
The three men are subject to international sanctions on suspicion of having links with Putin.
Friedman, who was born in Ukraine and one of the richest people in Russia, and Aven, who was born in Russia, had denied “any economic or political connection” with Putin.
The GPG group said it was mainly trying to “strengthen Jewish identity among Russian-speaking Jews around the world and promote understanding among Jews living in Israel and the Diaspora.”
The group has promised to pay $ 10 million to help Jews “affected by the crisis in Ukraine.”
The chairman of its board, Gennady Gazin, said on Friday that he remained in office and that the resignations would not affect the Genesis group’s commitments.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine brought to light the ties that wealthy Russian Jews allegedly maintained with Vladimir Putin, such as Roman Abramovich, who is subject to sanctions by the British government.
Recently, the Israeli Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem, suspended its cooperation with this Russian oligarch who is one of its biggest donors.
Following the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Israel took care not to strongly condemn the Russian attack, stressing the strong ties that unite it with both Moscow and Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to address Israeli lawmakers via video conference on Sunday.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News
and be the first to know all the news
