Skip to content

Russian Billionaires Are Running Out of Havens to Stash Fortunes

Sanctions put wealth abroad at risk, but repatriating assets to a country on the brink of economic ruin is a dire proposition.

In recent weeks some of the biggest assets held by Russia’s richest people have been whisked out of Cyprus. — In recent weeks some of the biggest assets held by Russia’s richest people have been whisked out of Cyprus.
Photographer: Yiannis Kourtoglou/AFP/Getty Images

By

Benjamin Stupples and

Devon Pendleton

March 22, 2022, 2:12 PM UTCUpdated onMarch 22, 2022, 5:09 PM UTC

Glance at a map, and Cyprus is barely a blip relative to Russia’s vast expanse. The Mediterranean island is a mere 0.05% the size of the world’s largest country.

But for Russia’s top 0.05% — its oligarchs and billionaires — Cyprus is hugely significant. It for years housed an outsized share of their wealth, in some cases even dwarfing what they held in the motherland itself.