Russian oligarch Kerimov owned a stake in SpaceX while under sanctions - Bloomberg
Kyiv • UNN
Suleiman Kerimov has owned about 1% of SpaceX shares through the Heritage Trust in Delaware since 2017. The ownership continued even after the introduction of US sanctions against the Russian oligarch in 2018.
Russian Senator Suleiman Kerimov, who is one of the richest people in Russia, owned a stake in SpaceX, headed by Elon Musk, through a trust even after the first administration of Donald Trump imposed sanctions on him. This was reported by Bloomberg, according to UNN.
Details
Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov has reportedly owned a stake in SpaceX through the Delaware-based Heritage Trust since 2017, four people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg, including two former senior U.S. officials.
Initially, the trust owned about 1% of SpaceX, according to sources.
The SpaceX holding company started its operations a year before Kerimov and others were sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in response to what it called "Russia's malicious activities around the world." The US Treasury Department's actions were aimed at blocking his assets and preventing him from doing business with US companies.
Citigroup Inc. which was engaged in the day-to-day administration of the Heritage Trust, sought guidance from the Treasury Department and decided that there was no need to block the trust and related entities after Kerimov was sanctioned and the trust continued to operate.
Addendum
In April 2018, the United States imposed sanctions on Kerimov, freezing his assets and banning US transactions with him as part of the Trump administration's efforts to hold Russian officials and oligarchs accountable for allegedly profiting from corruption and foreign aggression.