The UK has imposed sanctions on the Belarusian Alfa-Bank, which is part of the international financial consortium Alfa-Group.
The British authorities explained the inclusion of the Belarusian Alfa-Bank in the sanctions list by the fact that “CJSC Alfa Bank Belarus is or has been involved in obtaining a benefit from or supporting the Government of Belarus by carrying on business in a sector of strategic significance to the Government of Belarus, namely the Belarusian financial services sector.”
The Chairman of the Board of the Belarusian Alfa-Bank is Valery Smolyak. He worked at the Belarusian MTBank from 2005 to 2018 and held senior positions there, including branch head, executive director and deputy chairman of the management board.
The bank was previously known as the Bank for International Trade and Investment before changing its name in 2008 after Alfa Group became the majority shareholder. The Alfa Group Consortium, founded in 1989 by Mikhail Fridman and Anatoly Potik, is one of the largest private financial and investment consortia in Russia. At the same time, Alfa Group is not a legal entity. As of December 31, 2023, the consortium employed more than 430,000 people.
