E-scooter and e-bike share scheme operator Voi has severed ties with two Russian shareholders. The Mayor of the West of England, Dan Norris, expressed relief at the outcome, having invited the firm’s CEO to explain the situation face to face in Bristol earlier in the year.
Back in March, Voi CEO Fredrik Hjelm posted an open letter on the Voi website about several partners and investors with Russian connections after concerns were raised by Swedish newspaper Di.
Hjelm said his firm always conducted background checks on investors before agreeing terms and, “at no time were these investors on any sanction list nor are they today.”
Di highlighted in particular Aleksander Eliseev, who owned about 1.2 per cent of shares in Voi through Litten Investments and Ilya Yushaev, who owned about 2.9 per cent of shares through PTC.
Eliseev is said to have business connections to Alexei Mordashov, who has been sanctioned by the EU, while Yushaev is also a major shareholder and chairman of Globaltruck, a shipping firm that is partly owned by the Russian state.
Voi currently runs the e-scooter rental scheme in the West of England and Norris threatened to cancel it unless the firm took action. Shortly after, he and Hjelm met in Bristol for what he promised would be “a candid and frank exchange” about the matter.
Voi says that both Eliseev and Yushaev have now been removed.
Responding to the news, Norris told Bristol 24/7: “I welcome this news from Voi. West of England residents told me time and again that they don’t support links with the murderous Putin and his cronies and they wouldn’t feel comfortable associating with a company with questionable shareholders.
“When the cases of Alexander Eliseev and Gabriel Yushevaev came to light, I immediately told Voi my views and as local people may remember the CEO of Voi came to Bristol at my invitation for face-to-face talks.
“Since then, I have continued to keep up the pressure and so I am pleased by this outcome. West of England residents are right to expect moral leadership and I am relieved that Voi have managed to be able to do the right thing.”
Also this week, Voi announced that it was adding e-bikes to its Liverpool rental fleet - the new Explorer 2, specifically.
The firm had already been offering e-scooters in the region and has added 50 e-bikes with plans to add a further 100.
Voi took over in Liverpool after the CityBike share scheme fell victim to vandalism and lack of investment that together resulted in losses of around £300,000 a year.
