Russian golden passport holder’s company blocked from trading in London Stock Exchange

The London Stock Exchange has suspended trading in 27 companies with strong links to Russia, including energy and banking giants Gazprom and Sberbank.

It also blocked trading in the company Polyus Gold, owned by Maltese-naturalised Pavel Grachev, a Russian millionaire who owns the largest producer of gold in Russia.

Grachev and his family received Maltese passports in 2017 through the Individual Investor Programme through IIP concessionaire Henley & Partners in 2014.

Almost half of Grachev's declared net worth of €42 million is derived from a single “bonus payment” of €20 million paid to him by a BVI shell company, Ninelco Investments Ltd.

The LSE said it was moving to block trading in the companies, which also include EN+, Lukoil and Polyus, with immediate effect “in light of market conditions, and in order to maintain orderly markets”.

During Grachev’s application process, Identity Malta asked Grachev to explain his relationship with Suleyman Kerimov, a Russian oligarch sanctioned by the United States. Kerimov’s son, Said Kerimov, formally controls a majority of shares in Polyus Gold.

In response to Identity Malta’s assertion that “the last decade” of Grachev’s career hinged on ties to companies owned or partially owned by Kerimov, Grachev claimed to have only “very occasional interactions with [Suleyman Kerimov] personally”.

To meet the 12-month residency requirement, Grachev rented a flat at Portomaso in St Julian’s for €2,800 per month. He spent less than ten hours in Malta in 2014 according to an itinerary filed along with documents related to his residency status.