March 18, 2022

Is seizing the yachts & mansions of Russian oligarchs enough? No.

Source: Al Jazerra

Journalist: Tatiana Serafin

Rachel Ziemba who assesses country risk at the Center for a New American Security also notes that there have been interesting moves into US-linked cryptocurrency and other liquid assets. Earlier in March, the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an alert that cited cryptocurreny transactions as having the potential for sanctions evasion. This was followed by new legislation from US Senator Elizabeth Warren that, if passed, would authorize President Biden to sanction foreign crypto firms that are conducting business with sanctioned Russian entities. Though it is unclear how much of this is linked to Russian oligarchs, there have been reports of Russian tourists, for example those stuck in Indonesia, converting their Russian roubles to cryptocurrencies and then back into Indonesian rupiahs.

Read the full story and more from Al Jazeera.

Author

  • Rachel Ziemba

    Adjunct Senior Fellow, Energy, Economics, & Security Program

    Rachel Ziemba is an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). Her research focuses on the interlinkages between economics, finance and security i...