Everton owner Farhad Moshiri has severed all business links with his long-time associate Alisher Usmanov.
The Blues majority shareholder has stepped down from the board of USM, a Russian holding company that Mr Usmanov founded, after suspending the club’s multiple sponsorship ties with companies associated with the Uzbekistan-born billionaire who is now set to be sanctioned by the UK in addition to the EU.
USM made the announcement today in Moscow on Interfax with a statement reading: “ Farhad Moshiri left the board of directors of the USM group, according to their message. The decision came into force on March 2.
“Moshiri is a minority shareholder of the USM holding, which consolidates the assets of Alisher Usmanov and his partners.
“The group’s assets include Metalloinvest, Megafon, Udokan Copper and Ackermann Cement.
“Usmanov fell into another wave of European sanctions against Russia because of the events in Ukraine.
“After that, the holding stated that the sanctions would not affect USM companies, since the businessman owns less than 50% of the parent structure.”
Everton confirmed on Wednesday they were suspending their sponsorship agreements with Russian companies USM, Megafon and Yota with immediate effect having been under increasing pressure to react over recent days after Russia's military invasion of Ukraine.
