Russian oligarch Kesaev has €1 billion in assets in Netherlands

Russian oligarch Igor Kesaev, placed on the European sanction list last Friday, has an estimated 1 billion euros in assets parked in Dutch businesses, the Financieele Dagblad reports. As he may not be a majority shareholder in the Dutch companies, it is unclear whether Kesaev's assets can be frozen in the Netherlands.

Kesaev is the founder and co-owner of Megapolis Distribution. According to the most recent data from the Dutch Chamber of Commerce, dating from the end of 2020, The Hague-based company has an annual turnover of 10 billion pounds from the distribution of cigarettes, beer, coffee, batteries, and customs. Kesaev is also a shareholder of arms factory Degtiariov, which supplies weaponry to the Russian army.

A Dutch director of Megapolis Distribution told FD that Kesaev does not have a majority or controlling interest in the company and that he stepped down from the supervisory board on April 11. That makes it more complicated to sanction the company, experts previously explained, because the authorities have to prove that the sanctioned person - Kesaev in this case - can still exercise control over the company. The Dutch director did not say whether Kesaev still has a controlling interest in two other Dutch companies.

A spokesperson for Stef Blok, who was appointed national coordinator of sanctions after fierce criticism from parliament on the Dutch government's enforcement of sanctions against Russia, could not tell FD whether Kesaev or Megapolis was on his radar. Dutch central bank DNB said it could not comment on individual cases.