Latest news with #assetseizure
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'Fortress Russia' has confiscated $50 billion in assets over three years, Kommersant says
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia has confiscated assets worth 3.9 trillion roubles, or around $50 billion at current exchange rates, over the past three years, underscoring the scale of the transformation into a "fortress Russia" economic model, the Kommersant newspaper said. Foreign companies have grappled with the risk of state seizure since Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, but Moscow, citing strategic stability and domestic security, has increasingly turned its attention to domestic assets too. The size of the asset seizures, calculated by the NSP Law Firm, shows the extent of Russia's move from a relatively open economy towards a "fortress" model, Kommersant, one of Russia's most respected newspapers, said. The law firm advised business owners to shed potential weak points which could be used as a basis to seize assets including second passports or economic ties with countries which Russia classifies as "unfriendly" - broadly the entire Western world, Kommersant said. It also suggested owners should consider entering into business with state-owned partners, Kommersant said. About 1.54 trillion roubles worth of assets have been seized under the law on strategic companies, 1.07 trillion roubles worth seized on corruption grounds, 385 billion roubles on alleged privatisation violations and 621.5 billion roubles due to claims of ineffective management, Kommersant said. The 1991 fall of the Soviet Union ushered in hopes that Russia could transform into an open free-market economy integrated into the global economy, though vast corruption, economic turmoil and crime undermined confidence in democratic capitalism in the 1990s. President Vladimir Putin in his first eight years in power supported economic freedoms, targeted some so-called oligarchs and presided over significant economic growth, seeing the economy grow to $1.8 trillion in 2008 from $200 billion in 1999. In the 2008 to 2022 period, the economy grew to $2.3 trillion, though Western sanctions hit it hard after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, according to figures from the International Monetary Fund. Though the Russian economy has performed better than expected during the war in Ukraine, its nominal dollar size in 2024 was just $2.2 trillion, according to IMF figures. ($1 = 78.2000 roubles) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Reuters
17-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Moscow court rules to nationalize Domodedovo Airport
June 17 (Reuters) - A Moscow court ruled on Tuesday to hand over the assets of the country's third-largest airport, Moscow's Domodedovo, to the Russian state at the Prosecutor General's request, court filings showed. Domodedovo's assets were owned by Russian businessman Dmitry Kamenshchik or his companies. Kamenshchik also had citizenship of Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, according to Russian media, and according to the court documents prosecutors believed the ownership structure could expose the airport, an entity of strategic importance, to the risk of foreign influence. Domodedovo did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Domodedovo case is the latest in a series of asset seizures initiated by prosecutors. Earlier this year, the court ordered the transfer of several major companies to state ownership, including grain trader Rodnie Polya, warehouse operator Raven Russia, and oil service firm Borets. Moscow started seizing assets in Russia, both from foreign and Russian owners soon after the start of the conflict in Ukraine and had already transferred property worth 2.4 trillion roubles ($30.48 billion) to the state, Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov said in March. ($1 = 78.7455 roubles)
Daily Mail
18-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Gaming hacker's waterfront mansion and Mercedes Benz seized in major cybercrime probe
Luxury assets linked to a previously convicted hacker worth more than $4.5million, including a beachfront mansion, have been seized by Australian Federal Police. Shane Stephen Duffy, 32, from Queensland had millions of dollars worth of assets seized following a lengthy investigation into stolen cryptocurrency and cyber hacking. In April, a beachfront home, a 2019 black Mercedes-Benz sedan and nearly 25 Bitcoin was seized by the AFP-led Criminal Assets Confiscation Taskforce (CACT). Duffy is suspected of stealing 950 Bitcoin from a French cryptocurrency exchange in 2013, now worth about $150million. He had previously been convicted of hacking US-based gaming company Riot Games, the company behind the popular video game League of Legends. In 2018, the CACT launched an investigation after AUSTRAC were tipped off by authorities in Luxembourg about suspicious Bitcoin transactions. The alleged Bitcoin theft has not led to any criminal charges. However the CACT was able to restrict the suspected proceeds of the alleged crime under federal laws, even without a prosecution. Authorities secured restraining orders over the assets in 2019 and they were subsequently forfeited in April. Assets included a Beachmere waterfront mansion in Queensland's Moreton Bay region purchased in 2018 for $1.1million, which is now estimated to be worth about $2million. The luxury property was held in Duffy's mother's name. Following the home's sale, the proceeds will be transferred into a special fund that assists crime prevention and law enforcement initiatives. The AFP remains committed confiscating alleged proceeds of crime to disrupt criminals and cybercrime. 'The Proceeds of Crime Act provides law enforcement agencies with unique powers to restrain and forfeit instruments and proceeds of crime,' AFP Commander Jason Kennedy 'Criminals are driven by greed at the expense of honest Australians and businesses who are losing their hard-earned money to cyber criminals. 'The profits derived from criminal activities are also often used to fund further criminal acts, which is why the AFP works closely with our partners in the CACT to target the proceeds of crime and ensure they are re-invested in the community.' Since 2019, CACT has restrained more than $1.2bn in criminal assets, including houses, cars, yachts, cryptocurrency, fine art and luxury goods. Duffy accumulated more than $32,000 in 2013 by selling access to inactive League of Legends accounts, according to court documents. He hacked the X, formerly known as Twitter, account of Riot Games president Marc Merrill to promote the illegal operation and allegedly teamed up with another hacker to disrupt matches on the platform by disconnecting players. The company said the operation resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars being lost. In 2016, Mr Duffy was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail, to be served on immediate parole after he pleaded guilty in Brisbane District Court.
