Sanctioned Russian oligarch who stepped down from his $22 billion investment firm says the company is scared to meet up with him personally

After he stepped down, the investment firm he co-founded was scared to meet him.

They are afraid to meet me in person. In an interview with the Financial Times published Friday, Aven said that they are afraid of authorities.

Aven resigned from LetterOne, a London-based investment firm he co-founded with a Russian billionaire, after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Mervyn Davies told the Financial Times that colleagues were not allowed to talk to Aven and Fridman. The company's stakes were frozen. Davies said that the firm locked them out of its offices and blocked them from accessing any documents.

Aven told the Financial Times that they can't touch the business.

LetterOne didn't reply to Insider's request for comment.

He said that lawyers and other advisers were doing more than they needed because of the fear of sanctions.

He said in the interview that British lawyers don't want to work with Russians.

The EU and the UK imposed sanctions on Aven on February 28 and March 15. He was described by the EU as one of Putin's closest oligarchs.

The billionaire resigned from the board of Alfa-Bank days after the EU imposed sanctions on him.

That is very strange, because you meet the president. We don't try to be involved in politics. Aven said that he was presenting Alfa Group not himself.

In the interview, Aven said he was struggling to pay his bills and was unsure if he would be able to have a cleaner or driver.