Ventura2020 wrote: Oldweed wrote: @Canelsabel
From the article you posted on Curaleaf, they responded to the unfounded claims. You are complicit. I hope the lawyers over at CURA get wind if all your posts on here, maybe a someone on Twitter should let Boris know.
A spokesperson for Curaleaf responded after this article was published to say the company has complied with state standards.
“We have fully complied with all requirements regarding disclosure of our ownership and financing in the state of Connecticut, and have a collaborative and transparent working relationship with CT regulators,” a spokesperson said. “There is nothing to hide, and we are disappointed that the continued misguided narrative to malign the company continues among journalistic outlets – despite the absence of any evidence supporting these false and defamatory claims.”
Until now.
On Tuesday, APR was provided documents showing that one of the top scoring companies for an integrated cannabis license, 3 Notch Roots LLC., is partially owned by a man with alleged ties to a U.S.-sanctioned Russian oligarch who is close friends with Russian President Vladamir Putin.
On application paperwork, under the “Ownership Resume” portion, 3 Notch Roots lists Andrey Blokh, who is also part owner of Curaleaf, one of the country’s top cannabis companies. Blokh has an impressive cannabis portfolio, and Forbes credits him with owning more than 21 percent of the entire American cannabis market. Curaleaf chairman Boris Johnson is also part of the ownership group of 3 Notch Roots.
But more interesting is Blokh’s ties to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who has been sanctioned by the European Union, the UK and the United States following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Last year, the U.S. attempted to seize Abramovich’s yacht and other assets.
A report on Vice News in February cited leaked documents showing Abramovich’s ties to Curaleaf and noted that the billionaire had essentially bankrolled the entire U.S. cannabis industry, investing more than $130 million and offering another $194 million in loans to weed companies between 2016 and 2018. The leaked documents show Abramovich provided more than $200 million to Curaleaf, formerly known as Palliatech. Vice and Barron’s, which analyzed the leaked documents and tracked the financial reports, noted that Abramovich went to great lengths to hide his investments in the American weed industry.
3 Notch Roots appears to be a subsidiary of Curaleaf, which owns at least 140 cannabis stores across the country and is the largest licensed marijuana company in the world, according to Vice.
Attempts to reach either Curaleaf or 3 Notch Roots were unsuccessful on Tuesday.
APR also attempted to contact the 3 Notch Roots’ listed owner in Alabama. The company is listed as a minority applicant, and the documents list Mertha Carter as its minority owner (with 51 percent) through her sole shareholder status of Carter’s Contracting Services in Andalusia.