Head of the BBC accused of cooperating with Russian oligarch’s cryptocurrency company

According to The Guardian, the head of the British Broadcasting Corporation BBC, Richard Sharpe, invested his own funds in a crypto company owned by a Russian oligarch three years ago.

As it became known, in 2019, Richard Sharpe invested in the Swiss cryptocurrency company Atomyze, founded by Russian businessman and politician Vladimir Potanin, who is called the «Nickel King» and a friend of Putin. The BBC chief has invested hundreds of thousands of pounds in Atomyze using accounts held by ABCP GP Ltd, an offshore company in the Cayman Islands. Atomyze uses blockchain technology to trade metals produced by Potanin’s company Norilsk Nickel, which dominates the world’s nickel production.

It is worth noting that formally, Richard Sharpe has not violated any sanctions imposed on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine. After all, his funds were invested in Atomyze 3 years ago, when cooperation with a terrorist country was still the norm for the international community.

As a reminder, cryptocurrency companies are actively imposing sanctions against Russian residents, which is why the largest gaming platforms and exchanges have stopped accepting Russian payment cards. «Today I paid for the order, the money was debited from the card twice, but the order was never paid, I wrote to support, they are silent,» this and dozens of similar messages from online game users appeared on the forums of gaming platforms and exchanges in early July. Players who wanted to buy accounts, game currency, and other digital goods complained that when they paid with Visa and Mastercard, the money was deducted, but the purchase did not take place.