Russian court orders seizure of billionaire oligarch’s luxury hotel following criticism of Ukraine invasion
Most wealthy Russian oligarchs have refrained from publicly criticizing President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine. Whatever their thoughts about the war in Ukraine might be, they have kept quiet rather than risk offending Putin or his allies in the Kremlin.
A notable exception has been billionaire Oleg Deripaska, who has denounced the invasion of Ukraine as “madness” and believes that it has been terrible for Russia economically. The Kremlin hasn’t been happy about Deripaska’s comments, and now, one of his businesses is suffering.
A Russian court, according to Financial Times, has “ordered the seizure of a luxury hotel complex” that Deripaska owns in Sochi, a resort city along the Black Sea in Southern Russia.
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Financial Times reports, “The court order to seize the $1bn Imeretinskiy Hotel complex and marina in Sochi came after the Kremlin asked Deripaska to stop criticizing the war, according to two people familiar with the matter.”
One of Financial Times’ anonymous sources, described as a “person close to Deripaska,” told the publication, “The Kremlin asked him to calm down.”
“The metals tycoon is the most prominent of the small number of Russian business leaders who have spoken out since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February,” Financial Times reports. “‘We need peace as soon as possible, as we have already passed the point of no return,’ he wrote on Twitter in March. The Kremlin asked him to tone down his criticisms that same month, according to another person close to the oligarch, and has repeated that request at least once since. Many oligarchs privately oppose the war, although few have made public comments.”
Financial Times notes that several Russian oligarchs have told the publication “that they are afraid to disagree publicly with the Kremlin, citing fears of repercussions for them and their businesses.”
“Yet in June,” according to Financial Times, “Deripaska warned that ‘destroying Ukraine would be a colossal mistake,’ even as he shied away from criticizing Putin personally. Two weeks later, the Sirius Federal Territory, a science, educational and tourism cluster established under Putin, filed three land dispute lawsuits against RogSibAl, Deripaska’s company that owns the Imeretinskiy complex. Putin’s decision in 2020 to grant Sirius the status of federal territory — giving it its own government and budget — had meant it became, in effect, RogSibAl’s landlord.”
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