Still Unsanctioned by America, Vladimir Potanin Is Extending His Influence to Banks in Russia.

All under the blessing of his protector Vladimir Putin.

At the end of March 2022, I already told you about Vladimir Potanin, the Russian nickel oligarch, who remained strangely absent from the US, EU, or UK sanctions list. As the second half of May 2022 has begun, Potanin is still protected. This allows him to extend his influence on the banking sector in Russia.

Far from politics, immersed in business, Vladimir Potanin has always fulfilled the missions entrusted by the Kremlin. The latest: the takeover of Rosbank, one of the main Russian commercial banks, from Société Générale. A retirement in good order for the French group despite this big mess, with a net loss expected to exceed 3 billion euros. A good deal for the new financial pole of the oligarch who, the second fortune of Russia, had sold his share in Rosbank in 2007 ... to Société Générale.

This return to the sender, forced by the aftermath of the “special military operation” of Russia in Ukraine, according to the official euphemism of the Kremlin, was well orchestrated by Vladimir Potanin. With a broader ambition: in a few weeks, his holding Interros has become one of the main players in the Russian banking landscape.

Potanin is establishing himself as the new strongman of the banking sector in Russia

After Rosbank, he took over the shares of Oleg Tinkov, the iconoclastic fintech leader opposed to the “crazy war” in Ukraine, in Tinkoff Bank, which should now abandon the name of its founder. Vladimir Potanin also bought the Russian branch of the American Global Payments as well as a stake in TCS Group, a Russian subsidiary of JP Morgan. And he is reportedly in discussions with UniCredit, which is also forced to leave Russia.

The 61-year-old oligarch, a Francophile, married with seven children, already enjoys a fortune of more than 17 billion dollars, according to Forbes. A success built since the 1990s, when the former member of the Communist Party and official at the Ministry of Foreign Trade took advantage of the fall of the USSR to start a business. First in consulting for foreign investments. Then in the privatization of the hydrocarbon and natural resources sectors.

Today, Interros is expanding into banking in express mode. Without a public speech of the boss. In a private sector in turmoil behind the two state-owned behemoths under sanctions, Sberbank and VTB, there were plenty of suitors for takeovers, from Alfa-Bank and Promsvyazbank to the tech group Yandex, via the investment fund AFK Sistema.

Potanin's rise is under the benevolence of his protector Vladimir Putin

The sudden rise of Vladimir Potanin, who never talks politics, has all the hallmarks of a careful scenario from above. Reputedly close to Vladimir Putin since their common 1990's in St. Petersburg, this ice hockey fan (like the president) has an ace up his sleeve: unlike other oligarchs, he is not under sanctions from the United States, the United Kingdom, or the European Union - his name only appears on the lists of Canada and Australia. This gives freedom of movement. And of purchases …

For him, this is a turnaround. As an industrialist, Vladimir Potanin had previously devoted himself to modernizing the giant Norilsk Nickel, one of the largest producers of nickel and palladium. These are key mines for the world metal markets, which helped him to stay away from Western sanctions.

In the far north of Russia, it has also lost a lot. After the June 2020 collapse of a thermal power plant reservoir and the accidental spill of 20,000 tons of oil, the Kremlin declared a state of emergency. And the president summoned the oligarch. A man of loyalty, Vladimir Potanin paid a record 146 billion rubles (nearly two billion dollars) in compensation for environmental damage. A page has been turned between the two Vladimirs.

Potanin is now rewarded for his loyalty to Vladimir Putin and could continue to expand his influence in Russia under sanctions by taking advantage of the departure of Western investors to seize excellent opportunities. The big question is how long this will last.