Biography & Early Wealth Journey

The news comes after an FBI agent claimed back in June of last year Abramovich had transferred two private jets worth a combined $400 million over to his children, a transfer that is reported to have happened just two weeks before the invasion. He also attempted to sell a property in Portugal valued at $10 million but this was halted by authorities due to sanctions that were in place even before the invasion took place.

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The transfers reportedly took place just days after various governments threatened to impose sanctions on Russian oligarchs if Russia went through with its threats to invade Ukraine, and it's possible they were carried out in order to avoid such sanctions and asset freezes that could (and ultimately did) come along. And as the Guardian story points out, such moves could be met by countermoves on the part of governments attempting to seize assets that are already ensnared in a complex web of shell companies and other financial entities:

Primary Income Streams & Multi-Million Contracts

"The revelations are likely to raise questions about whether Abramovich's children should also be subject to asset freezes. Unlike family members of some of Putin's closest advisers, many families of oligarchs subject to sanctions have avoided restrictions."

Whether such an effort to seize assets of Abramovich's children could actually happen remains to be seen.

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