A Russian oligarch’s swanky Amsterdam pad has been overrun by squatters.

Kazakh-born Russian tech entrepreneur Arkady Volozh co-founded Internet services company Yandex in 1997 and became its CEO three years later.

The 58-year-old, who also has Maltese and Israeli citizenship, resigned from his position after he was sanctioned by the European Union on 3rd June.

Yandex operates Russia’s most popular search engine, which was accused by the EU of “promoting state media and narratives in its search results”.

He was found to be the owner of an upscale property on Vossiusstraat, which overlooks the Vondelpark, in the south of the Dutch capital.

He had bought the EUR-3.4-million (GBP-2.9-million) property through a company in the British Virgin Islands, but it was traced to the oligarch through a notarial deed.

Authorities in the Netherlands froze the property, but it was occupied by a group of squatters on 27th October.

The squatters said in a statement: “We are against the war, against the greed of oligarchs and billionaires and against parasites that create capital.”

They added that they had occupied the property “in support of Ukrainian and Russian anarchists who are fighting against their state”.

The group also hung banners from a street-side balcony reading “Against war and capitalism”.

One squatter told local media: “The rights of billionaires who see our cities as investments are better protected than those of vulnerable people who want a roof over their heads.”

Police officers went to the property on 31st October but made no arrests.

Volozh’s net worth was once estimated at USD 2.6 billion (GBP 2.3 billion).

However, it had plummeted to an estimated USD 600 million (GBP 520 million) following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24th February.