On September 12, the country joined the European Union, which limited the price limit for crude oil of Russian origin from $60 per barrel to $47.60.
In addition, 11 individuals and 8 legal entities were added to the New Zealand sanction list, including “entities involved in the supply and use of chemical weapons, the spread of disinformation, as well as alternative payment providers (cryptocurrencies) that allow evasion of sanctions.”
Atomaiz is one of those sanctioned, a blockchain platform “allowing businesses to raise financing faster than on the classical market”.
In 2024, Atomaiz was added to the sanctions list by US authorities because it engaged in tokenizing precious metals and diamonds for Russian companies and cooperated with Rosbank and Sovcombank, both Russian banks.
After the company was sanctioned, the Russian authorities hid the current beneficiaries of the company in the databases of legal entities. However, these databases still contain information for 2023 that states that the founders are Tokentrust holdings limited, a Cyprus-registered company with a 65% stake in the authorized capital, and Interros Capital, an international Limited Liability Company with a 35% stake.
Interros Capital is controlled by Vladimir Potanin, a Russian billionaire, whose fortune Forbes estimates at $24.2 billion.
