Tourism in Mexico opens the doors to Russian oligarchs 4:15
(CNN) --
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters a new month, the oligarchs, the wealthy elite close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, face a radically changing set of circumstances far from the front lines.
The invasion prompted Western nations to impose restrictive sanctions on Russian individuals and banking institutions.
And while a handful of oligarchs, those billionaires who made much of their fortunes under Putin's watchful eye, have sued for peace, many have remained silent as nations cut off their access to markets and trade.
These are the assets confiscated from Russian oligarchs 2:29
On March 2, the US Department of Justice announced a collaborative effort with the European Union and other allies to create a special task force to target yachts, planes, real estate and other assets abroad. of these oligarchs.
Also, on Thursday, the US Treasury Department announced a series of new sanctions against hundreds of members of the Russian State Duma, dozens of Russian defense companies and the CEO of Sberbank, which is the largest financial institution. From Russia.
Officials say their intentions are to squeeze those who have profited from Putin's rule and potentially exert internal pressure on Russia to scale back or cancel the offensive in Ukraine.
Traditional financial havens like Switzerland and Monaco have even announced their own measures targeting those close to Putin, and far-flung nations like Australia and Japan have also moved to freeze finances.
The impacts of the sanctions have reverberated across the business and sports worlds as the assets of oligarchs who are members of Putin's inner circle are frozen.
Here's a look at some of the oligarchs close to the Kremlin who have commented on the war and those who have kept quiet.
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Oleg Deripaska
Oleg Deripaska, a close Putin ally who made his fortune in the aluminum business, was sanctioned on March 10 by the UK government, which said Deripaska's estimated wealth was 2 billion pounds and that he had holdings. at En+ Group, a major energy company and owner of one of the world's largest aluminum producers.
Shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Deripaska said on the Telegram messaging app: "Peace is very important! Negotiations must start as soon as possible!"
As the ruble collapsed and Russia's stock market did not open for trading, Deripaska said he wanted "clarifications and intelligible comments on economic policy for the next three months," adding that the central bank's decision to sharply raise interest rates and forcing companies to sell foreign currency was the "first test of who will really pay for this banquet".
Deripaska was previously sanctioned by the US in 2018 in response to Russian interference in the 2016 election. The US investigated him for money laundering and charged him with "threatening the lives of business rivals, illegally intercepting a government official and engaging in extortion and racketeering," according to the Treasury Department, which added: "Deripaska has said that he does not separate himself from the Russian state."
Mikhail Fridmann
Mikhail Fridman, chairman of the conglomerate Alfa Group, has a net worth of $11.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
He was recently sanctioned by the European Union, which said he "has managed to cultivate strong ties with Vladimir Putin's administration, and has been cited as a major Russian financier and facilitator of Putin's inner circle."
Before being sanctioned, Fridman, who was born in western Ukraine, wrote in a letter to his staff days after the invasion that he wanted "the bloodshed to end."
"My parents are Ukrainian citizens and live in Lviv, my favorite city. But I have also spent much of my life as a citizen of Russia, building and growing businesses. I am deeply attached to the Ukrainian and Russian people and I see the current situation. conflict as a tragedy for both," Fridman wrote.
“This crisis will cost lives and damage two nations that have been sisters for hundreds of years.
While a solution seems terrifyingly far away, I can only join those whose fervent wish is for the bloodshed to end,” he added in the letter, which was provided by his office.
The Financial Times newspaper was the first to report on the letter.
Friedman called the violence a "tragedy" and added that "war can never be the answer," but stopped short of directly criticizing Putin.
"If I make any political statement that is unacceptable in Russia, it will have very clear implications for the company, for our customers, for our creditors, for our shareholders," Fridman said.
Roman Abramovich
They receive Russian millionaire's yacht with blockade and protest 0:44
Another oligarch who expressed public dismay at the crisis but did not criticize Russia is Roman Abramovich, owner of Premier League club Chelsea, who decided to sell the team amid his own sanctions.
Abramovich "is one of the few oligarchs of the 1990s who maintained prominence under Putin," according to the UK, although he has always denied any such link.
Before being sanctioned by the UK on March 10, Abramovich said the net proceeds from the sale of the club would be used to establish a charitable foundation "for the benefit of all victims of the war in Ukraine".
The European Union sanctioned the oligarch last week, citing his "long and close ties to Vladimir Putin" and saying his "privileged access" to the president helped him "maintain his considerable wealth."
Notable oligarchs have kept quiet
Many Putin allies and members of his inner circle have not commented publicly on the war, which could underscore Fridman's comments that questioning the Russian leader has consequences.
Sanctions by Western nations against Russian government officials and leaders continue to escalate.
Others facing Western sanctions include:
Igor Sechin, CEO of energy company Rosneft: A superyacht owned by Sechin was recently seized, according to the French finance ministry.
Andrey Kostin, president of the VTB bank.
Alexei Miller, CEO of the Gazprom energy company.
Sergey Chemezov, director of the state defense company Rostec.
Igor Shuvalov, president of Vnesheconombank.
Nikolai Tokarev, president of the Russian state gas pipeline company Transneft.
Gennady Timchenko, founder and owner of the Volga Group, an investment firm with a large stake in Russian gas producer Novatek.
Arkady Rotenberg, owner of Mostotrest, the Russian construction company that helped build a bridge linking the Crimean peninsula with Russia.
The Rotenbergs are close friends of Putin.
All of them have remained publicly silent about the war.
CNN has reached out to each for comment.
US targets the fortunes of Russian oligarchs 3:30
The Russian elite speaks
Comments from other high-profile figures, however, show that disapproval of the war could run deep among the nation's elite.
Evgeny Lebedev, son of Alexander Lebedev, who describes himself as an exoligarchy, wrote a public statement to Putin in the British Evening Standard newspaper, which he owns.
"As a Russian citizen, I beg you that the Russians stop killing your Ukrainian brothers and sisters," Lebedev said.
"As a British citizen, I ask you to save Europe from war. As a Russian patriot, I ask you to prevent more young Russian soldiers from dying unnecessarily. As a citizen of the world, I ask you to save the world from annihilation," he added.
Vladimir Potanin, the country's richest businessman and chairman of metals giant Norilsk Nickel, implored Russia not to take the assets of Western companies fleeing the country.
"First of all, it would take us back a hundred years, to 1917, and the consequences of such a step (global mistrust of Russia by investors) would be experienced for many decades," he said in a message posted on Norilsk's Telegram account. Nickel last week.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was sanctioned by the US government on March 3 for being the "chief propagandist" for the Russian Federation.
On Friday, Peskov's wife and two of his adult children, including his daughter Elizaveta Peskova, were also sanctioned by the United States.
Peskova, who has more than 180,000 followers on Instagram, shared an anti-war message on her verified account the day after the invasion began, posting the hashtag #нетвойне, which means "no war."
A couple of hours later, the message was deleted.
CNN's Charles Riley, Evan Perez, Emiko Jozuka, Niamh Kennedy, George Ramsay, Vasco Cotovio, Nathan Hodge, Mike Callahan, Maria Angelova, Mariya Knight and Anna Chernova contributed to this report.
Conflict Russia - Ukraine
