The Finnish start-up conference is asking the venture capital funds providing the €1m prize to withdraw their money.
Slush organisers on Monday tweeted (siirryt toiseen palveluun) they were revoking Immigram’s pitching competition win at this year’s event, which resulted in a one million-euro investment for the London-based company.
The start-up conference said it has asked the venture capital funds involved in bankrolling the prize money to withdraw from Immigram.
“Slush has requested the participating funds, who are currently going through their individual assessments, to pull their investment into Immigram,” Slush tweeted on Monday.
The move follows criticism of the company’s Russian links. Slush has said it doesn’t partner with Russian companies or funds or accept startup or investor applications from companies based in Russia.
The company’s founders, Anastasia Mirolyubova and Mikhail Sharonov, are both Russian.
Over the weekend, a Ukrainian tech and investment publication suggested that Immigram’s platform helps Russian tech workers avoid the impacts of western sanctions by helping them leave the country.
“We should have reviewed all participants’ operations more closely before letting them enter the competition,” Slush said.
Last week, Immigram, which helps IT workers navigate the UK’s immigration process, won the Slush 100 pitching competition. The win resulted in a one million-euro investment from five venture capital funds—Accel, General Catalyst, Lightspeed, NEA and Northzone.
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