Mr Norris said that if the company still had Gabriel Yushevaev and Alexander Eliseev as shareholders in the Swedish scooter rental company by the end of the trial period in Bristol in October this year, it would influence its decision on whether to continue or not to allow Voi to operate. Voi boss and founder Fredrk Hjelm arrived in Bristol today (Monday, April 11) for talks with Mr Norris on the subject, and later told a news conference that he had done everything he could to get them to leave the shares. their. Read more: Love them or hate them – electronic scooters are changing Bristol Reports across Europe and the United States cite Eliseev as the owner of about ,8 10.8 million worth of shares in Voi, while at the same time being a businessman who founded a large company that is also partly owned by the Russian state. And multi-billionaire Yushevaev owns a larger 2.9 percent stake in Voi. In total, the couple owns 3.9% of the scooter rental company. None of them have yet been named on any nation’s list of sanctioned Russian oligarchs, although reports in New York suggest that one may be on a U.S. list of Russian oligarchs and businessmen facing the possibility of freezing. their assets or be subject to sanctions. otherwise soon. Mr Hjelm visited Bristol as part of a UK city tour where Voi is running its e-scooter program, and said he had a full and honest discussion with Mr Norris on the subject. He said the two Russian businessmen bought shares in Voi a few years ago, before the Putin regime invaded Ukraine in February this year. He said that while he would have preferred the two Russian businessmen to sell their shares, he could not force them to do so under Swedish law – unless, ironically, they were formally sanctioned by the Swedish authorities. Thus, the CEO of Voi said that he has been left in a situation where, because Voi shares are not publicly traded and have no market value in the open stock market, there is a difference between the amount that someone is willing to pay the Russians for their shares to the company and the amount these two Russians will accept to leave Voi. Read more related articles Read more related articles That, Mr Hjelm said in a press conference called by the mayor of the West Anglia metro at the Grand Hotel in Bristol, was currently “negotiable”. Mr. Hjelm also described the work his company has done to donate money and humanitarian aid to Ukraine and the refugees, as well as the steps the company has taken to avoid any trade within or with Russia. However, the two minority shareholders with ties to the Russian regime remained and would try “everything I can” to end the relationship, he said. Mr Norris said he welcomed Mr Hjelm’s honesty and transparency about the situation, but warned that he could make a difference when it comes to evaluating the pilot project this autumn. Fredrik Hjelm, the founder of Voi electronic scooter rental company, who came to Bristol for a press conference with the mayor of the metro of West England Dan Norris (Image: Bristol Live) Voi was the company selected by local councils in Bristol and Bath to run this area on a national government pilot project to determine if scooters were safe and practical in cities. This started in October 2020 and has been extended twice due to the pandemic. Mr Norris will make the final decision on whether or not he wants the scooter rental program to continue after the fall, and told Mr Hjelm that “the other scooter rental companies are out there”. “I want him to distance himself from that,” Mr Norris said. “I am deeply concerned about this situation. If we reach the end of the test and this is not resolved, then I have a difficult decision to make. The sooner they leave the better, and have nothing to do with Voi and then have nothing to do with West England. “I was very clear that this is important to me and will affect my thinking. “I still have personal questions about it,” he added. Do you want our best stories with fewer ads and alerts when the big news falls? Download our application at iPhone the Android Read more related articles Read more related articles
