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Roman Abramovich-backed venture capital fund removes all traces of operations

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Roman Abramovich, Chelsea’s owner, is seen in the stands during the Barclays Premier League match at Stamford Bridge between Chelsea and Sunderland on December 19, 2015. This was taken in London.

Clive Mason | Getty Images

A Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, a backer of a venture capital fund, appears to want to erase any trace of the operation since Abramovich was sanctioned in the United Kingdom. The Kremlin is waging war against Ukraine.

Impulse VC is an investment company with offices in Russia, Germany and China. They have wiped almost every page of their website that identifies them. At the time of publication, their website only displays the name “Impulse.”

A Wayback Machine search shows that Abramovich was targeted by U.S. sanctions in preparation for the move. The fund’s website provided extensive details about its investors and operations, such as its office locations, target investments and its portfolio.

Abramovich controls the U.K. soccer superpower Chelsea F.C. Although Abramovich had attempted to sell the club, U.K. football powerhouse Chelsea F.C. was now under U.K. sanctions. The government has the right to decide the outcome of the sale. Both the U.K. and EU sanctionsAbramovich’s assets were attempted to be frozen while limiting his travel. A Chelsea spokesperson refused to comment, but said that he sent CNBC’s questions through Chelsea’s personal spokesperson. Abramovich did not immediately reply.

Many emails to Impulse VC asking for comments were ignored by their leaders. PitchBook’s research has shown that Abramovich is the fund’s main investor. Although it is not clear how much Abramovich contributed to the fund, PitchBook indicates that the Russian billionaire helped finance venture capital investments through Impulse as well as his investment vehicle Norma Investments, which are valued on average at $6.65million.

The yacht “Solaris”, linked to Russian politician and oligarch Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich, is seen at Porto Montenegro (Tivat), Montenegro on March 12, 2022.

Stevo Vasiljevic | Reuters

According to PitchBook, there are a few Abramovich investments via Impulse or Norma Investments that have been linked with Abramovich.

According to industry executives, venture capital funds linked to Russian executives won’t be able avoid the effects of future and current sanctions.

Charles Myers (chairman of Signum Global Advisors), said that he doesn’t think VC funds would be exempted from future and current sanctions against Russian oligarchs. “So if Abramovich gets sanctioned in the U.S.A, the VC/private equity funds will need to disgorge his capital. This will be seized by the United States Treasury,” he said.

Impulse appears to be the latest Abramovich backed company, which seems to be falling prey the sanctions. The Wall Street Journal reports that Norma Investments, a British Virgin Islands listed company, was taken under the control of an Abramovich associate hours after RussiaThey invaded Ukraine.

Marine Traffic data shows that two Abramovich superyachts have traveled to Turkey, as officials from the Turkish government have confirmed. saidThey do not intend to place sanctions against Russia.

Abramovich has vehemently denied any ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told CNBC on Friday that the Biden administration had sanctioned him. could target him next. The Wall Street Journal reportedAbramovich was able to avoid U.S. sanctions so Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy advised Biden not to sanction Abramovich as he believed he could broker a deal with Putin.

Site for Impulse Wipes

Impulse’s February archived website shows that venture capital funds typically invested between $250,000 and $5 million.

The site states that they only invest in companies having a potential of $1 billion or more.

Also, the previous website noted that Impulse had a portfolio of over 60 companies around the globe. The archived site reveals that their investments have been focused on Russia and the U.S.

Worksuite was a San Francisco-based company that saw seed investments from Impulse. Abramovich, who PitchBook called the “lead partnership”, for these deals, also invested in Worksuite. PitchBook found that Worksuite, a company providing workplace management software, received millions in seed investments from Impulse beginning in 2016.

The Worksuite rep did not reply to my request for comment after publication.

OncoTartis and Genome Protection, both New York-based drug research companies that are headquartered in New York, received millions of dollars from Abramovich’s Norma Investments.

American-based businesses that saw Abramovich’s early investments did not respond to requests for comment.

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