When Western governments announced Friday their intention to freeze assets belonging to President Vladimir Putin of Russia as punishment for invading Ukraine, there was no indication they knew of significant holdings that could be tied to him.
In fact, very little is known about what Putin owns and where it could be. Despite years of speculation and rumor, the extent of his wealth remains maddeningly opaque, even as billions of dollars have sluiced through the accounts of his close friends and luxury properties have been connected to family members.
Officially, Putin earns about $140,000 a year and owns a small apartment, according to his public financial disclosures.
But that would not account for “Putin’s Palace,” a vast estate on the Black Sea estimated to have cost more than $1 billion, with a Byzantine ownership history that does not include the Russian president but has been linked to his government in various ways. Nor would the disclosures account for “Putin’s Yacht,” a $100 million luxury vessel long tied to him in speculative news reports.
There is also the $4.1 million apartment in Monaco, purchased through an offshore company by a woman reported to be Putin’s lover. And there is the expensive villa in the South of France linked to his ex-wife.
The problem for the United States and its allies is that none of these assets can be directly connected to the Russian president.
Until now, Western governments have focused their sanctions on people suspected of serving as Putin’s proxies.
Russia’s elites have long favored complex mazes of corporate ownership to avoid scrutiny.
Paul Massaro, a senior adviser at the U.S. Helsinki Commission who has been counseling members of Congress on Russia sanctions, said it was not always clear to U.S. officials what assets would be affected.
“It means that the sanctions that we hit these people with are largely going to be glorified press releases, because without knowing what these assets are, we can’t freeze them,” he said.
Still, even if the United States has only a limited picture of Putin’s wealth, sanctions are worthwhile “just to freeze what we can, freeze what we know, and let people know that these people aren’t welcome in our system,” Massaro said.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Mike McIntire and Michael Forsythe c.2022 The New York Times Company
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