UCI Management Committee member Igor Makarov is among fourteen "elites and close associates of the Russian regime" who have been sanctioned by the Canadian government in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
On Tuesday, the Canadian government placed Makarov on a list that also included the governor of the Russian central bank and two of Vladimir Putin’s daughters, stating that they are being sanctioned "for their complicity in Russia’s unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine."
Makarov, who was the founder of Swiss cycling team Katusha and a former pro cyclist himself, has been a member of the UCI Management Committee since 2011 and has been a powerbroker in recent UCI elections. His company Areti (previously Itera) has sponsored the European Cycling Union in the past. He is currently the honorary president of the Russian cycling federation.
Makarov’s companies are a major shareholder in the Calgary-based energy producer Spartan Delta Corp.
It has also emerged that Makarov was sanctioned earlier this month by the Australian government, who placed him on a list of "Designated Persons and Entities and Declared Persons—Russia and Ukraine."
The Australian government described the 149 individuals on the list as being "responsible for, or complicit in, the threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine." The sanctions include a travel ban, which would preclude Makarov from attending the UCI Congress and World Championships in Wollongong in September.
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the UCI suspended all Russian and Belarusian teams with immediate effect, which led to the demise of the Gazprom-Rusvelo Pro Continental team.
But while non-Russian Gazprom-Rusvelo riders have been left without a job as a result of the UCI decision, Makarov continues to be listed as a member of the Management Committee on the governing body’s website.
Cyclingnews has contacted the UCI seeking confirmation of Makarov’s status. UCI spokespeople have previously declined to respond to any questions from Cyclingnews regarding Makarov since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
