Former president of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Rene Fasel became the owner of a Russian passport. Along with citizenship, Fasel also acquired a stake in the Russian company Alma Holding LLC, which grows apples in the Krasnodar Territory. Fasel now owns a 54% stake. The remaining 46% is owned by Volga Group Agro, which is part of Gennady Timchenko's Volga Group. It is reported by Interfax with reference to the data of the Unified State Register of Legal Entities.
Fasel led the IIHF from 1994-2021. As an individual entrepreneur, he was entered into the tax register in January 2022. In May 2021, Fasel spoke out in support of Alexander Lukashenko due to the postponement of the Ice Hockey World Cup. The championship was postponed as a result of the falsification of the presidential elections in Belarus and subsequent mass protests.
Fasel then called the situation with the elections in Belarus “stupid” and noted that the postponement also depends on the countries participating in the festival, which “are under pressure, and this is very bad.”
“Northern countries such as Finland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden are under political pressure, which, in my opinion, is very bad. But who finally turned everything around is the sponsors. If at the end the sponsor comes and says: “If you go to Belarus, we will not participate,” Fasel said. He confirmed that he meant Škoda, which acted as the general sponsor of the tournament and refused to hold it in Belarus due to protests against Lukashenka.