BBC executive linked to Russian oligarch’s crypto firm

The chairman of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Richard Sharp, is said to have made investments three years ago in a crypto firm linked to a now-sanctioned Russian oligarch.

According to a report by The Guardian on Monday, Sharp made investments throughout 2019 to Atomyze, a Swiss crypto company founded by Vladimir Potanin, also known as the “Nickel King.”

The British government sanctioned Potanin – one of Russia’s richest men – in June for continuing to “accumulate wealth while supporting Putin’s regime” following the country’s invasion of Ukraine in February.

Sharp’s unreported investments in Atomyze came via Cayman Islands company ABCP GP Ltd, before he was employed by the BBC, where he was appointed director for a two-month period.

The BBC’s office was contacted for comment but did not return a response by press time.

Atomyze is a blockchain platform designed to digitize and tokenize commodities including palladium, gold, silver and nickel with ties to Russia’s mining and smelting giant Nornickel.

The company is best known for becoming Russia’s first crypto company added to the country’s central bank list of approved digital asset operators, shortly before the invasion of Ukraine.

Sharp, a former banker with eight years’ experience at JPMorgan and 23 years at Goldman Sachs, joined the BBC as non-executive chairman in February 2021.

While the chairman has since left his role at the Swiss firm, an employee of Sharp’s personal investment office sits on the board, according to the report.

Sharp is not considered to have breached the UK’s current sanctions or to have committed any wrongdoing. Russia has sanctioned the chairman, along with BBC director-general Tim Davie and other BBC staff, who have since been refused entry to the country ever since Russia’s invasion began.

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