Control of an investment firm linked to sanctioned oligarch Roman Abramovich switched to one of his close business associates the day Russia invaded Ukraine, report says
Business InsiderSep 09, 2022
Foreign Assets of Alleged Russian Oligarchs Under Scrutiny
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Image copyright: Getty Images/The Boston Globe [via Buzzfeed News]
The Facts
Revelations are continuing to emerge about the foreign assets of alleged Kremlin-aligned Russian oligarchs who've been targeted by sanctions since the invasion of Ukraine.
Billionaire Alexei Mordashov sold his controlling stake in Tui, the world's biggest tourism company, a move that may help him avoid the seizure of shares worth over $1B.
The Spin
Narrative A
Prosecutors, including the US' new KleptoCapture task force, are closing the net on the oligarchs who have aided Putin's war crimes, and they will have no place left to hide their ill-gotten wealth.
Narrative B
Sanctions are only a first step in the battle against authoritarian global corruption. If the West doesn't reform its own policies on financial anonymity, the sanctions will never have the intended impact. The West is awash in ill-gotten wealth, and those who benefit from it are reluctant to stop the spigot.
Establishment-critical narrative
It's hypocritical to impose sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine, but not on the US for invading Iraq for equally unjustified reasons, or on Israel for invading and annexing Arab lands.
