Since the start of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, EU countries have been busy freezing the assets of oligarchs and imposing further sanctions. However, some wealthy Russians seem to leave no stone unturned and always find a back door.
“Freeze” means that all accounts of the affected persons and entities with EU banks are blocked. The same goes for other assets. Although they remain in the possession of the owner, he can no longer dispose of them as long as the sanctions are in effect. Germany, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Ireland, Italy and Austria were particularly active.
Italy: 2 billion already frozen
On Tuesday, the head of Italy’s Financial Information Unit (UIF), Enzo Serata, reported in his annual report to parliament that the Apennine Peninsula had already frozen two billion euros worth of Russian billionaires’ assets. Bank accounts have been affected, but so have yachts and villas.
Right at the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Italy seized the yacht “Lady M” from the oligarch Alexei Mordashov.
Oligarchs leave no stone unturned
However, some oligarchs apparently can’t be stopped from continuing to do business and vacation in Europe. Russians are known for not giving up easily. “You can’t break laws, but you can get around them” is a common Russian proverb. Serata can probably sing a song about that too. He reports that the Italian financial investigation agency received more than 155,000 reports of suspicious transactions in 2022.
Some Kremlin-affiliated oligarchs, whose private jets have landed on the sanctions list, don’t want to be “knocked down” either. Instead of adhering to the measures, they just keep flying their planes to Europe – from one beautiful place to another, Ukrainian online newspaper Ukrajinska Pravda reports.
Regular flights to Europe
One of the examples the paper gives is the former head of the petroleum company “Rosneft” Eduard Khudainatov (pictured below). The billionaire oil manager is said to have visited Helsinki, Switzerland and Nice in his plane since the war. After that he regularly flew to Europe – probably because it had always worked before.
The EU imposed sanctions on Khudainatov in June 2022. The statement said that the former boss of Rosneft is close to the current head of the oil company Igor Sechin and Russian ruler Vladimir Putin. In May 2023, Canada also introduced punitive measures against the oligarch.
Source: Krone

I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.