Revolut’s Russian-British boss condemns ‘horrifying’ war in Ukraine
The Russian born boss of London fintech firm Revolut has condemned the ‘horrifying’ war in Ukraine as the firm committed to a series of measures to support civilians caught up in the conflict.
Nikolay Storonsky, who grew up in Russia but holds dual Russian-British citizenship and has a Ukrainian father, said the war was “wrong and totally abhorrent” and called for an immediate end to the fighting.
“For me, as for so many, the idea of a war between Russia and Ukraine is not just horrifying, it is almost impossible to believe,” he wrote in a blog.
“As recently as last week, I was still convinced that a diplomatic solution would be reached, and it was with complete disbelief and sadness that I looked on at the violence of this past week.”
Storonsky agreed to match donations to the Red Cross Ukrainian appeal from Revolut customers, after it opened fee-free donations across nine of its markets and saw £1m donated within 24 hours.
The firm said it had worked with global security partners to help its Ukrainian-based staff to relocate to outside the country or within Ukraine.
Revolut holds an EU banking licence but operates as an e-money institution in the UK, and bosses said on Friday it would comply with all relevant sanctions in a note on its website.
Storonsky, 37, founded the firm in 2015 alongside Ukrainian Vlad Yatsenko and it has grown to be one of Britain’s most valuable fintech firms.
The most recent funding round valued the firm at $33bn, with Storonsky’s net worth soaring to $6.69bn, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index.