A fund linked to Russian oligarchs Aven and Moshkovich helped Musk buy Twitter

The 8VC investment fund, which employs the sons of Russian oligarch Pyotr Aven and former member of the Russian Federation Council Vadim Moshkovich, is among the companies that financed Elon Musk’s purchase of the social network Twitter.

This is stated in a document from the District Court for the Northern District of California, published by The Washingon Post.

In 2022, Elon Musk bought Twitter for more than $44 billion, with help from banks, financial institutions and foundations. In 2024, a US court ordered Musk to publish a list of investors in the purchase of the social network. According to the document, one of the 100 largest investors in the purchase of X (formerly Twitter) is the venture capital fund 8VC.

According to Forbes, the sons of Russian oligarchs Vadim Moshkovich and Pyotr Aven work in this fund.

Jack Moszkowicz, who has been a permanent resident of the United States since 2024, joined the foundation in 2018. Moshkovich's father is a Russian oligarch in the agricultural sector. He founded one of the largest agricultural companies in the Russian Federation - Rusagro.

From 2006 to 2014, Moshkovich was a member of the upper house of the Russian parliament, the Federation Council. In addition, Vadim Moshkovich came under EU sanctions in March 2022 in connection with the war in Ukraine.

The son of the Russian oligarch, president of Alfa Group Petr Aven, Denis, according to Forbes, has been working at the fund since 2022, after his father began to be included in the sanctions lists of Western countries.

According to 8VC founder Joe Lonsdale, Denis Aven and Jack Moshkovich are close friends and the latter brought Aven to the fund.

Joe Lonsdale, commenting on the work of Aven and Moshkovich at 8VC, notes that they are professionals in their field and are not associated with their parents’ business in Russia.

“It turns out that his (Jack Moshkovich - EP) father is a successful agricultural leader in Russia; if you are a businessman in Russia and their leader says to meet, you go, regardless of your views. His father is now on the “oligarchic” list of sanctions. But I didn't hire his father, I hired him. And he’s a superstar,” Lonsdale wrote in X.

“Denis (Aven - EP) is Jack’s friend, with whom he grew up. When he (Denis Aven - EP) finished his master's degree, a leading private company paid for it, and he planned to go to work there, but the cowards in that company saw that Denis had a father who is now on the sanctions list, and told Denis that they they won't take it.

What did I do when I heard about this? I have known my colleague Jack for many years and trust his judgment. I looked into it, talked to mentors I respected on this topic, and met with Denis and hired him,” he added.