Green hydrogen magnate Forrest sanctioned by Russia after calling Putin a 'murderer'
‘You’re not worth talking to unless you’ve been sanctioned’, billionaire tells London conference
Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest, the outspoken Australian iron-ore billionaire who is one of the most influential figures in green hydrogen, has been sanctioned by the Russian government after repeatedly slamming the Moscow regime, including calling President Vladimir Putin a “murderer”.
“He’s an incredibly intelligent person, not to be underestimated in any way,” Forrest told Australia’s ABC News in late February. “And tough, very tough.
“I’ve spent time in Crimea, I’ve spent time in Ukraine. We’ve been trying to work with Russia for some time, [but] we’ve made it incredibly clear that you just have no excuse to go and invade another country.”
And in interview with CNN in March, he referred to Putin as “a dictator trying to take an entire other country for his personal ambition” who was fixated with 17th-century emperor Peter the Great and was “casting himself in that mould”.
“I’m saying to my fellow chairmen, chief executives and investors, get out [of Russia] now. It is blood money... there is a murderer at the helm and we need to do everything to not support that murderer.”
Forrest was among 121 Australians, including journalists, businesspeople, academics and military officials, that were today banned from entering Russia, with Moscow’s Foreign Ministry describing them as people “who form the Russophobic agenda in this country”.