Former Formula One Russian racing driver Nikita Mazepin has taken a fight with the UK government to the High Court over sanctions imposed on him following Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine.
The former driver in the Haas Formula One Team has also taken legal action against Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.
During a High Court hearing in London on Wednesday, a judge considered the preliminary issues.
Mr Justice Chamberlain heard that Mazepin and his father Dmitry Mazepin — a Russian businessman — were made subject to sanctions in mid-March 2022. Neither Mazepin nor his father were at the hearing.
In September 2022, Mazepin had requested “revocation of his designation” but ministers had decided to “take no action”.
A judge is due to oversee a further hearing in London in June.
Mazepin is involved in a similar bid to have sanctions lifted in Canada.
Oligarchs sanctioned by the UK — in pictures
Barrister Tom Leary, who represented Mr Cleverly, told the judge that Haas had “terminated its relationship” with Mazepin in early March 2022, following the outbreak of war.
He said Mazepin had not driven for a Formula One team since.
Mazepin and his father were “subject to an asset freeze and travel ban”, the judge was told.
Mr Leary indicated that one of the reasons Mazepin wanted sanctions lifted was so that he could travel to Britain to negotiate with race teams for the 2024 season.
Mr Justice Chamberlain suggested that a trial judge might have to stage part of the proceedings in private to consider any “closed” material presented by ministers.
Barrister Rachel Scott, who represented Mazepin, told Mr Justice Chamberlain in a written case outline: “The UK sanctions to which he has been made subject, alongside the imposition of restrictive measures at EU level, effectively ended his racing career.
“He missed the 2022 season and, almost certainly, the 2023 season and, whilst those sanctions are in place, no Formula One team will take him on as a test, reserve or full driver.
“The claimant will, in effect, be unable to negotiate a place on a Formula One team for 2024 unless he is free to travel to and from the UK to attend negotiations at teams’ bases in the UK, bearing in mind that seven of the 10 teams are based in the UK.
“Negotiations to join a Formula One team usually begin in May or June of the previous year. Thereafter he must be able to enter the UK, not just for the British Formula One race, but for briefings, ergonomics design work, training and attending the team’s base.”
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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.”
