Their resignations follow the freeze of sanctioned oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven’s shareholdings in the investment business.

None of the three individuals--Khan, Kuzmichev and Kosogov--have been sanctioned, but they believe the resignations are the right thing to do in the long-term interests of Letterone, the company said.

Khan, who is of Ukranian-Russian heritage, additionally said: “The majority of LetterOne founders have deep roots in Ukraine and the destruction of the cities where I spent my childhood and which are home to the graves of our ancestors is heartbreaking.  The recent bombing of the Babyn Yar holocaust memorial centre, which we funded and helped create feels inconceivable. 

“My partners and I stand for the earliest end to war and will do all we can to help those affected – whether employees of our businesses in Ukraine, or victims of the violence. We fully support the board’s actions in this matter.”

Letterone, which paid out $700 million in dividends over the past four years, said in a statement that it had made a donation of $150 million to help those affected by the war in the Ukraine. “We know that everyone at Letterone, including our founders [sanctioned oligarchs Fridman and Aven], support this action,” said Letterone.

The Luxembourg-based investment business was set up by Fridman and Aven in 2013, with assets of approximately $24 billion from the sale of oil producer TNK-BP to Rosneft. It invests in Wintershall Dea formerly one of Germany’s largest crude oil and natural gas producers. Letterone’s entities, including its two main business units, L1 Energy and L1 Technology, are all based out of Luxembourg.