Increasing pressure on Western Russian billionaires; Meet the so-called oligarchy | National Magazine

Since the beginning of the invasion UkraineOther countries – etc. To us And France – imposed sanctions targeting the Russian elite. Reporter Philip Santana explains who the so-called “oligarchs” are and how they are connected Vladimir Putin.

The boat was supposed to be in maintenance until April 1, but when it attempted to sail, it was seized by French authorities before service could be completed. “Amore Vero” has a gym and a beauty salon. Its owner is Igor Chechin, President of Rosneft, One of the largest oil companies in the world; 75% of the company is controlled by the Russian government.

When Putin was deputy mayor of St. Petersburg, Igor was the chief executive of Chechnya. And when Putin became president, he was appointed chief executive. In 2004 he was elected President of the Oil Company.

After the invasion UkraineWhat Europe and To us According to the US Treasury, war is a promise to unravel the relationship between money and power. These billionaires close to Putin are called oligarchy.

The oligarchy came from the ancient Greek language and means by some – this rule began when the Soviet Union ended. When communism gave way to capitalism, the Swedish economist Anders Asland was one of the economic advisers to then-President Boris Yeltsin.

He said National Magazine It coincided with the birth of oligarchy. He explains that they are well-educated young people and they have become excellent negotiators. They bought oil from the government at very low prices and began reselling it to other parts of the world at market prices. Thus, they became rich and established banks.

Then, at the time of privatization, through government contacts, they were able to buy the largest Russian state-owned companies. When Putin came to power in 2000, he promised to hunt down these oligarchy. And it was able to remove most of the power. But he replaced them with a new oligarchy – according to Asland, this time submissive to him.

Bill Browder managed one of the largest investment funds Russia. After he was ousted by the Putin government, he began to cooperate United NationsFrom In the hunt for Putin’s oligarchy.

According to him, Putin gets a percentage of the business of friends who helped enrich him. Putin says he cannot keep this wealth in his name. So, she is lying about the goods in the name of these friends or third parties abroad. According to economists and international journals, Putin’s assets are estimated at $ 200 billion..

Many tricks are used such as placing these assets in the names of third parties or companies. So it’s hard to estimate how many properties there are in New York, and many of them are vacant.

For example, a house was bought in 2008 by the oligarch Oleg Deribaska for US $ 45 million. To us He is accused of murder, money laundering, bribery, extortion and being too close. Vladimir Putin.

What stands alone on the list To us Some are not well known names. Like Dmitry Rypolovle, who sold the most valuable works of art in history, Salvatore Mundy is also responsible for Leonardo da Vinci.

Or Chelsea owner Roman Abramovic, who put the club up for sale this week. He has been called Putin’s banker.

Asland explains that many of them just don’t have contacts Russia, But also in the West. They are big donors to big companies To us And in Europe. They are so powerful, they are untouchable even here.