Friedman wants to return to Britain, but he will be forced to "use public transportation"

Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman, who recently moved from London to Israel and then to Moscow after the Hamas attack, intends to return to the UK.

This was announced on Tuesday at a court hearing by the businessman's lawyers, Bloomberg reports.

Therefore, Friedman continues to fight in court to lift the restrictions imposed on him in the UK after the start of the war in Ukraine.

However, the British authorities do not want to allow Friedman to "enjoy the lifestyle he had before the sanctions were imposed," said Malcolm Birdling, who represents the government in court.

Therefore, the Office for the Implementation of Financial Sanctions refused to allow the businessman to receive additional payments for his staff.

The billionaire's lawyer, Rachel Barnes, called the freezing of his assets a "draconian regime of financial prohibitions and restrictions."

Officials justified the refusal to pay for a full-time driver by saying that "the defendant is able to use public transportation," she said.

In total, Friedman was denied monthly payments of 30,000 pounds, as well as money for telephone, audio and television equipment (another 1,850 pounds per month), because he did not indicate how much he intended to spend on entertainment and how much on security.

In September, he had a "security incident," according to court documents (no details are given).

Friedman's lawyers are appealing the denial in court, pointing out that the British government no longer considers him an oligarch close to Putin, and that the sanctions in place are justified by the stake he had in Alfa Bank.

"London has been home for him for many years, he lives here with his family" and hopes to return, Barnes said.

As a reminder, Rogozin asked to check Friedman, who has returned to Russia, for possible financing of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.