Russian billionaires are reshaping their fortunes

SHUFFLE MODE: Billionaire Alexey Mordashov’s super yacht may have been seized, but he has made other moves to combat sanctions

- Benjamin Stupples, Devon Pendleton & Jill R Shah

In the dark of night on March 4, Italian police in the Ligurian port of Imperia encircled a 215-foot superyacht belonging to Russia’s fourth-richest person, Alexey Mordashov.

The European Union had sanctioned the billionaire on Feb. 28, days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His extensive holdings in Europe — including ‘Lady M,’ with its swimming pool and beauty salon — were seemingly frozen by authorities.

Mordashov, however, had already made moves of his own. The same day he was sanctioned, he shifted control of a roughly $1.1 billion stake in London-based mining company Nordgold to his wife, Marina Mordashova. He also moved a chunk of his $1.7 billion stake in holiday tour-business TUI AG from a Cyprus holding company to one incorporated in the British Virgin Islands.

As law makers worldwide ratchet up pressure on some of Russia’s elite as a way to pressure President Vladimir Putin, they’ve often pointed to blocked superyachts, luxury real estate and sports clubs as signs their efforts are working.