Alberta
Russian billionaire couple claims Canadian sanctions are unjustified and unreasonable
Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko and his wife Aleksandra want to be taken off Canada’s sanctions list, claiming in Federal Court they’ve been wrongfully labelled as “elites and close associates” of the Russian regime.
The Melnichenkos filed two applications in the Federal Court of Canada in late March, seeking to quash a decision to place them under sanctions related to the war in Ukraine.
Court documents obtained by The Canadian Press reveal that the pair have been fighting their inclusion on Canada’s list of “designated persons” under its Russian sanctions regime since October 2022.
Back in February, the Trudeau government announced amendments to the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations, which included placing the Melnichenkos on a list of 122 sanctioned individuals tied to the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The couple claim the Canadian government has failed to provide them with any evidence to justify their inclusion on the list.
The list includes Russian elites and policymakers thought to be “engaged in activities that directly or indirectly facilitate, support, provide funding for or contribute to a violation or attempted violation of the sovereignty or territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
“Mr. Melnichenko does not have, and has not had, any association with the Government of Russia or President Putin,” Andrey Melnichenko’s application states. “He left Russia 20 years ago and has resided in Switzerland for the past 13 years. There is no reasonable basis for the Minister to believe otherwise.”
His wife, a former model and Serbian pop singer, claims she’s been wrongly targeted by Canadian sanctions, since she has no ties to Russia and doesn’t have any involvement in companies founded by her husband.
The couple’s Canadian lawyers, Scott Hutchison and Eleni Loutas with Henein Hutchison Robitaille LLP in Toronto, declined to comment on their cases.
Andrey Melnichenko’s public relations director, Alexander Byrikhin, did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Global Affairs Canada said in an emailed statement that it “cannot release information on individuals or entities listed under the Special Economic Measures (Russia) or comment on individual cases.”
“In response to Russia’s illegal and unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine, Canada has imposed hard-hitting sanctions against the Russian regime and those who enable it,” the statement said.
Aleksandra Melnichenko claims in her application that she’s a European citizen with “no connections to Russia whatsoever.”
She denies any involvement in two companies founded by her husband, fertilizer firm EuroChem, and SUEK, a coal company, both of which are owned by a trust administered in the European Union.
“She is merely a beneficiary of the discretionary trust managed by the independent trustee,” her application claims. “The latter is the legal owner of the named companies.”
In June 2022, EuroChem issued a “statement on ownership and control” following reports that Andrey Melnichenko had ceded ownership in the firm to his wife just before being sanctioned by the EU.
“EuroChem Group AG is not sanctioned, has never been sanctioned, and is free to continue with its important mission of supplying high-quality crop nutrients to world markets,” the statement said. “EuroChem is majority-owned and controlled by EU trustees of a trust, whose beneficiary, Aleksandra Melnichenko, has no majority ownership of, nor influence over, EuroChem. Therefore, EuroChem is not controlled by any sanctioned person.”
Aleksandra Melnichenko claims her “erroneous” inclusion on sanctions lists in the EU, Switzerland and Canada caused “difficulties for the companies’ operations worldwide, increasing the ongoing food and energy crisis.”
Andrey Melnichenko claims he’s been falsely portrayed as an “oligarch” in control of the companies, causing production disruptions at facilities in Europe after he was sanctioned by the EU.
His court application warns of similar “unintended consequences” in Canada, where the Russian sanctions list now includes more than 1,300 individuals.
It states that he’s not an oligarch but a “self-made businessman,” quoting a Forbes report referring to his fortune being made independently and free of ties to the Russian government under both Putin and Boris Yeltsin.
Melnichenko sits at number 58 on Forbes’ billionaires list with a net worth of more than $25 billion, which he amassed beginning in the early 1990s with a chain of currency exchange booths, before founding MDM Bank, and later EuroChem and SUEK.
“As has occurred in Europe, sanctioning Mr. Melnichenko could disrupt EuroChem and SUEK’s operations and detrimentally impact the global fertilizer supply which, in turn, has the potential to exacerbate the ongoing food shortage,” he claims in Federal Court.
Julia Webster, a Toronto-based international trade lawyer and partner at Baker McKenzie, said Canada’s approach to Russia contrasts with other countries currently under sanctions.
Unlike sanctions on Haiti, Myanmar, Iran and Sri Lanka, Canada’s sanctions on Russia represent a “true decoupling of economies,” she said, given the economic entanglements between western nations and Russia before its invasion of Ukraine.
She said Canada’s sanctions list mirrors that of allied nations.
“The sanctions are being implemented in co-ordination with Canada’s allies,” Webster said. “There is overlap on many of the prohibitions that are in place amongst the sanctions regimes between different countries and the people who are designated on those sanctions regimes, but there are also differences and Canada at this time seems to have actually one of the strictest regimes comparatively to its allies.”
In March 2022, the EU sanctioned Andrey Melnichenko, noting his attendance at a meeting held by Putin with Russian business leaders and oligarchs on the day of the invasion of Ukraine.
“The fact that he was invited to attend this meeting shows that he is a member of the closest circle of Vladimir Putin and that he is supporting or implementing actions or policies which undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, as well as stability and security in Ukraine,” the EU said.
Shortly after Andrey Melnichenko was sanctioned in the EU, Italian authorities seized the couple’s $600-million “Sailing Yacht A,” but their other vessel, Motor Yacht A, valued at $300 million, avoided a similar fate by docking in the United Arab Emirates at the time.
In August 2022, the United Stated designated Melnichenko as a “Putin enabler,” pointing to his past involvement in Russia’s financial services sector.
“Listing carries serious social, economic and personal consequences,” the couple claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 16, 2023.
Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press
From the Canadian Energy Centre
‘Today’s youth have the opportunity to lead us into the future with innovative solutions for environmental challenges’
After a 24-year career in oil sands land reclamation, author Tanya Richens is sharing her knowledge with young minds.
Her new book, From the Earth to Us: Discovering the Origins of Everyday Things, explores the relationship between natural resources and the things we use in everyday life, from computers and water bottles to batteries and solar panels.
“There is a gap in society’s understanding of where things come from. We are a society driven by consumerism and immediate gratification. We order something online, and it arrives on our doorstep the next day. We don’t stop to think about where it really came from or how it was made,” Richens says.
“There’s an ever-increasing societal position that mining is bad, and oil is even worse… But there’s a simple hypocrisy in those beliefs, since so many things in our lives are made from the raw materials that come from mining and oil and natural gas,” she says.
The book, illustrated by reclamation artist Shannon Carla King, follows young Hennessy Rose and her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Riley on a trip to a children’s summer camp.
Hennessy’s mom is a guest speaker on the origin of everyday items and the relationship between humans and the earth. Through detailed explanations of items surrounding her, Hennessy’s mom teaches the kids how rocks, minerals, oil and gas from the earth are used to power and aid our lives, creating items such as building supplies, food and hair products, camping and sports equipment, and cell phones.
Author Tanya Richens poses with her two books for children about natural resources. Photo for Canadian Energy Centre
“I thought a simple and fun book explaining the raw materials needed to make everyday items would be valuable for all ages,” Richens says.
“When people feel personally connected to natural resources, they are more likely to promote sustainable practices. Today’s youth will have the opportunity to lead us into the future with innovative solutions for environmental challenges.”
Richens‘ career began with Alberta Environment, where she was a coordinator of reclamation approvals in the oil sands. She oversaw technical reviews of oil sands reclamation applications, communicated with statement of concern filers, coordinated public hearings and provided support for legislative changes.
She moved from government to Suncor Energy, ensuring the company’s compliance on reclamation projects and led initiatives to obtain reclamation certificates. She now works as an independent consultant.
Drawing on her wealth of experience in the field, Richens’ first book, Adventures in Land Reclamation: Exploring Jobs for a Greener Future, seeks to excite kids aged 9-12 years about jobs related to the environment and land reclamation.
Hoping to get From the Earth to Us into the hands of teachers, Richens is heading to the Edmonton Teachers Convention in late February. She says the book supports multiple learning outcomes in Alberta’s new science curriculum for grades 3, 4, 5 and 6.
“Ultimately, I’d like people to understand and acknowledge their individual part in the need for mining and oil and natural gas development. Until the naivety and hypocrisy in the world is addressed, I’m not sure that real environmental change is possible.”
Richens’ books can be purchased on her website at tcrenvironmental.com.
Canada’s wealth is based on its success as a trading nation. Canada is blessed with immense resources spread across a vast country. It has succeeded as a small, open economy with an enviable standard of living that has been able to provide what the world needs.
Canada has been stuck in a situation where it cannot complete nation‑building projects like the Canadian Pacific Railway that was completed in 1885, or the Trans Canada Highway that was completed in the 1960s. With the uncertainty of U.S. tariffs looming over our country and province, Canada needs to take bold action to revitalize the productivity and competitiveness of its economy – going east to west and not always relying on north-south trade. There’s no better time than right now to politically de-risk these projects.
A lack of leadership from the federal government has led to the following:
- Inadequate federal funding for trade infrastructure.
- A lack of investment is stifling the infrastructure capacity we need to diversify our exports. This is despite federally commissioned reports like the 2022 report by the National Supply Chain Task Force indicating the investment need will be trillions over the next 50 years.
- Federal red tape, like the Impact Assessment Act.
- Burdensome regulation has added major costs and significant delays to projects, like the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project, a proposed container facility at Vancouver, which spent more than a decade under federal review.
- Opaque funding programs, like the National Trade Corridors Fund (NTCF).
- Which offers a pattern of unclear criteria for decisions and lack of response. This program has not funded any provincial highway projects in Alberta, despite the many applications put forward by the Government of Alberta. In fact, we’ve gone nearly 3 years without decisions on some project applications.
- Ineffective policies that limit economic activity.
- Measures that pit environmental and economic objectives in stark opposition to one another instead of seeking innovative win-win solutions hinder Canada’s overall productivity and investment climate. One example is the moratorium on shipping crude through northern B.C. waters, which effectively ended Enbridge’s Northern Gateway proposal and has limited Alberta’s ability to ship its oil to Asian markets.
In a federal leadership vacuum, Alberta has worked to advance economic corridors across Canada. In April 2023, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba signed an agreement to collaborate on joint infrastructure networks meant to boost trade and economic growth across the Prairies. Alberta also signed a similar economic corridor agreement with the Northwest Territories in July 2024. Additionally, Alberta would like to see an agreement among all 7 western provinces and territories, and eventually the entire country, to collaborate on economic corridors.
Through our collaboration with neighbouring jurisdictions, we will spur the development of economic corridors by reducing regulatory delays and attracting investment. We recognize the importance of working with Indigenous communities on the development of major infrastructure projects, which will be key to our success in these endeavours.
However, provinces and territories cannot do this alone. The federal government must play its part to advance our country’s economic corridors that we need from coast to coast to coast to support our economic future. It is time for immediate action.
Alberta recommends the federal government take the following steps to strengthen Canada’s economic corridors and supply chains by:
- Creating an Economic Corridor Agency to identify and maintain economic corridors across provincial boundaries, with meaningful consultation with both Indigenous groups and industry.
- Increasing federal funding for trade-enabling infrastructure, such as roads, rail, ports, in-land ports, airports and more.
- Streamlining regulations regarding trade-related infrastructure and interprovincial trade, especially within economic corridors. This would include repealing or amending the Impact Assessment Act and other legislation to remove the uncertainty and ensure regulatory provisions are proportionate to the specific risk of the project.
- Adjusting the policy levers that that support productivity and competitiveness. This would include revisiting how the federal government supports airports, especially in the less-populated regions of Canada.
To move forward expeditiously on the items above, I propose the establishment of a federal/provincial/territorial working group. This working group would be tasked with creating a common position on addressing the economic threats facing Canada, and the need for mitigating trade and trade-enabling infrastructure. The group should identify appropriate governance to ensure these items are presented in a timely fashion by relative priority and urgency.
Alberta will continue to be proactive and tackle trade issues within its own jurisdiction. From collaborative memorandums of understanding with the Prairies and the North, to reducing interprovincial trade barriers, to fostering innovative partnerships with Indigenous groups, Alberta is working within its jurisdiction, much like its provincial and territorial colleagues.
We ask the federal government to join us in a new approach to infrastructure development that ensures Canada is productive and competitive for generations to come and generates the wealth that ensures our quality of life is second to none.
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Devin Dreeshen
Devin Dreeshen was sworn in as Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors on October 24, 2022.
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