This Person, Once the Richest Russian in Silicon Valley, Renounces Russian Citizenship

Yuri Milner, CEO of Digital Sky Technologies (DST) (Photo by Yuri Milner)

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Yuri Milner, the richest Russian active in Silicon Valley, USA, and CEO of Digital Sky Technologies (DST), announced on the 10th (local time) that he has renounced his Russian citizenship.

According to Bloomberg and others, DST Global posted a statement on its website on the same day saying, "There have been some inquiries regarding Yuri Milner and DST Global's relationship with Russia. We would like to clarify this matter," and published the content accordingly.

Born in 1961 in Moscow, the capital of Russia, CEO Milner founded the technology investment company DST Global in 2009. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, his personal fortune is estimated at about $3.5 billion (approximately 5 trillion KRW). He obtained Israeli citizenship in 1999 and introduces himself as an "Israeli investor" on his homepage. DST Global, founded by him, is an investment company that has invested in major global companies such as Facebook and Twitter. In 2011, the company was investigated after suspicions arose that funds from Russian state-owned enterprises had flowed into U.S. IT companies through DST Global.

According to the posted statement, the process of CEO Milner renouncing his Russian citizenship was completed in August. Milner stated that he bought a house in Silicon Valley, USA, in 2011, his family moved to California in 2014, and he has not visited Russia since then. He emphasized that he has no assets in Russia, 97% of his current personal assets were generated outside Russia, and he has never met Russian President Vladimir Putin.

DST emphasized that it has invested in more than 80 companies worldwide but has no companies based in Russia and does not have a separate office in Russia. It also added that less than 3% of the total capital raised since its founding until this year was sourced from Russia, that it has not raised funds from Russian investors since 2011, and that all funds were returned by 2014.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, CEO Milner has actively distanced himself from Russia. Immediately after the invasion, DST Global issued a statement condemning "Russia's invasion of sovereign neighbor Ukraine." On the day DST posted the statement about his renunciation of citizenship, Milner explained on his Twitter that he and his family "left Russia forever" after the annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Earlier, in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek in March, CEO Milner said, "I cannot change the fact that I was born in Russia. We cannot change the fact that we received Russian funds in the past."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.