Russian oligarch has second private jet grounded in UK

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A £35 million private jet owned by Russian billionaire Eugene Shvidler has been banned from flying in the UK as part of sanctions in response to the war in Ukraine.

Another plane owned by Mr Shvidler, a Bombardier Global 6500 jet, has been detained at Farnborough Airport in Hampshire since March 8.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced that he has deregistered the aircraft, meaning any certificates in place that allow it to fly have been suspended.

The Cessna aircraft with the tail registration G-LATO is currently at Biggin Hill Airport, south-east London, where it was due to undergo maintenance and repairs.

Mr Shapps issued the order to block the plane from leaving on March 19 to enable an investigation into its ownership.

Mr Shvidler is a friend of Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich — himself a target of UK sanctions — and a former boss and shareholder in Mr Abramovich's steel firm, Evraz. His net worth has been estimated at £1.2 billion.

“Russian oligarchs who have benefited from [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's regime will not be allowed to just go about their business as they were before this completely unprovoked war started,” Mr Shapps told the PA news agency on a visit to Biggin Hill Airport to see the jet.

“That's why we're actually stripping this off the British aircraft register.

“This plane will not be going anywhere for the foreseeable future.”

Mr Shapps said finding out who controls private aircraft is often “extremely complex” but that the UK will not “hesitate to make sure that we sanction, detain, strip all of these vessels”, referring to ships and yachts as well as aircraft UK authorities have in their sights.

He also announced that all Russian aircraft are now classified as “unairworthy in UK eyes” because “they're now not being serviced properly” due to sanctions.

The planes were banned from UK airspace following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Other workplace saving schemes

The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.

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Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut

Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Company name: Fine Diner

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The specs: 2019 GMC Yukon Denali

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Fuel economy, combined: 12.9L / 100km