Andrey Kostin, known as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s banker, is on a list of Russians who have been sanctioned by the United States. Because of that listing, Kostin told FOX Business’ Liz Claman on Thursday some U.S. leaders would not meet with him in at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, which he finds to be unfair.
“I think the sanctions are very much unjustified because I didn’t do any wrongdoing towards America,” Kostin said on “The Claman Countdown.” “But, you know, we are talking about big politics, and I’m just the victim of those big politics.”
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He called the sanctions unfortunate since it prevents him from traveling to America to conduct business, but he remained hopeful the sanctions would “maybe one day” be removed.
The sanctions have affected Russia so much that the country is set to launch a stock exchange targeting sanctioned companies. Kostin’s company, VTB Bank, will not be listed on this stock exchange, however.
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“It’s mainly for the companies which cannot be listed anywhere else,” Kostin explained. “We have to find the ways how to deal with this, and that’s why we are trying to deal less with the dollar, for example.”
Another big discussion at Davos, where a four-day conference of business and government leaders meet each year, is climate change. With Russia’s economy focused on fossil fuels, it might surprise people to learn Kostin drives an electric car.
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“I love it,” Kostin said of his car. “But it’s still very expensive for Russians … and quite difficult to maintain because of the, you know, charging and so on.”
Instead, Kostin said the country is focused on a “regional approach,” where the companies are on the financial hook for implementing clean energy plans. He maintained Putin “cares about the environment,” pointing to his signing of the Paris climate agreement.
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