Ruler 'Nickel King' Added to US Additional Sanctions List... A Powerhouse with Political and Business Connections

'Nornickel' Escapes Sanctions Again
'Metal King' with Extensive Connections in Russian Politics and Business Circles

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The U.S. government announced that it will add Vladimir Potanin, the major shareholder of Nornickel, the world's largest nickel mining company not only in Russia but globally, to its sanctions list against Russia. Potanin is known as one of Putin's close associates and a figure who has held extensive connections and status across political and business circles since the Soviet era. In Russia, he is referred to as the "Nickel King" or the "Metal King."

However, Nornickel, led by Potanin, was not included in the sanctions list this time, sparking controversy both inside and outside the U.S. Since nickel and palladium produced by Nornickel are essential minerals for the automotive and semiconductor industries, imposing sanctions could lead to sharp price increases and aftershocks, making it difficult for the company to be included in future sanctions.

The U.S. sanctions the hesitant 'Nickel King'... Will Russian supply shrink?

The office building of Norilsk Nickel located in Moscow, Russia
[Image source: TASS·Yonhap News]

According to CNN on the 15th (local time), the U.S. State Department announced that it designated Potanin, his investment holding company Interros, his wife, and two adult children as additional targets of sanctions against Russia. Potanin's luxury yacht was also designated as a sanctioned item.

Along with the Potanin family, five others including First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov and Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Nikolaevich Chernyshenko were included in sanctions related to the operation of Russian state-owned enterprises. Furthermore, sanctions were imposed on 29 regional governors and leaders, their two family members each, six proxy authorities, and one organization that helped Russia's invasion and exercised control over Ukrainian territory. The U.S. State Department explained that "they supervised and enforced conscription under Russia's mobilization order," which is why they were included in the sanctions list.

Particularly drawing attention was the inclusion of Potanin, who had not been sanctioned until now. Although the UK government included him in its sanctions list against Russia in June, he had not been sanctioned by the U.S. until now. Nornickel, the world's largest nickel mining company led by Potanin, was again excluded from the sanctions list.

Nornickel accounts for 15-20% of the global market in nickel production, a key component of electric vehicle batteries. In the case of palladium, an essential mineral for semiconductor production, it holds more than 40% of the market share. The decision to exclude Nornickel from sanctions is understood to consider the potential impact on the global economy, but controversy continues both inside and outside the U.S.

Born with a Russian silver spoon, also served as Deputy Prime Minister... Bought state-owned enterprises after the Soviet collapse

In 2018, Vladimir Potanin, CEO of Nornickel, having a private meeting with Vladimir Putin, President of Russia (left). [Photo by Reuters·Yonhap News]

Potanin is a figure with extensive connections in Russian political and business circles and served as Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister in 1996. He is known as one of President Putin's close associates and is mainly nicknamed the Nickel King or Metal King within Russia.

According to the BBC, born in 1961, Potanin was influenced early on by his father, who was an official in the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Trade, and began to attract attention as an economic official. After graduating from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), an educational institution for training foreign ministry officials in the Soviet Union, in 1983, he became a foreign ministry official and amassed enormous wealth by purchasing state-owned enterprises at low prices during the collapse of the Soviet Union.

After founding the investment company Interros in 1991, he aggressively pursued mergers and acquisitions by acquiring Nornickel and export banks. Even after becoming Deputy Prime Minister in 1996, he continued corporate acquisitions, which became a subject of controversy. Conscious of these controversies, he also made many donations; he was the largest patron of the Hermitage Museum, one of the world's top three museums, and donated $1 million annually to the U.S. Guggenheim Foundation.

He is reportedly continuing aggressive business acquisitions even amid the current Ukraine war. According to major foreign media, Potanin acquired Rosbank, the Russian subsidiary of France's Soci?t? G?n?rale, which withdrew from Russia in May, through Interros. Earlier, he also purchased United Card, which was sold off when the U.S. company Global Payments withdrew from Russia.

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