President Isaac Herzog has asked French President Emmanuel Macron for help lifting European sanctions against a prominent Jewish oligarch linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Haaretz daily reports.
Russia-born Moshe Kantor resigned last year as the president of the European Jewish Congress after the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on him because of his alleged involvement with Putin’s regime.
Kantor, a dual citizen of Russia and Britain who has been living in London for over a decade, was accused by the UK of being active in industries “which Putin uses to prop up his war economy.”
The sanctions included the freezing of his assets in the United Kingdom.
Kantor is a large shareholder of the publicly traded firm Acron, one of Russia’s largest fertilizer producers.
He has since also faced EU sanctions.
Herzog made the request in a phone call at the behest of European Jewish leaders, Haaretz said, citing sources in the President’s office.
Kantor has also been a major donor to Jewish causes.
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