Latest news with #oligarchs
Washington Post
07-08-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Haiti prepares for new leadership as gunfire erupts and gangs threaten to overthrow government
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A wealthy businessman was slated to become president of Haiti's transitional presidential council on Thursday, marking the first time that the private sector is in control of the country's two executive branches. The change in command further threatened to destabilize the country as a powerful gang federation that has long denounced Haiti's oligarchs pledged to overthrow the government hours before the swearing-in.
Bloomberg
07-08-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Oligarch's Heirs Reveal Wall Street Bets in Family Office Revamp
Badri Patarkatsishvili's family set up a firm to manage his multibillion-dollar fortune after the mustachioed Georgian tycoon died suddenly at his English mansion in 2008. As his heirs fended off opportunists seeking a slice of the billionaire's assets, the money manager kept a low profile, offering few details of how it handled the wealth he amassed alongside fellow oligarchs Boris Berezovsky and Roman Abramovich following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
News.com.au
04-08-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
‘I know how its all going to end': Ex-CIA chief warns of Vladimir Putin's demise
Vladimir Putin is terrified, sickly and facing a fate just like his toppled dictator pal Bashar al-Assad, a former CIA chief has warned. Ralph Goff, ex-CIA chief of operations for Europe and Eurasia, said the ageing Russian tyrant is preoccupied with his health. And while he fumbles with trying to keep well, there is likely to be fomenting dissent in his elites, The Sun reports. He said Putin, 72, could fall very quickly if his oligarch pals turn on him – potentially losing power in a sudden uprising like Assad. Goff said the Russian president's health and wellbeing is his 'top concern'. 'Putin is a guy who's afraid of Covid, afraid of being sick,' the ex-spook – a 35-year CIA veteran said. 'His personal health and wellbeing are his top concern. 'Putin may have the same fate as Bashar al-Assad who fell suddenly without warning. 'I think this is one of the more likely outcomes for Putin – a threat that he doesn't even see coming, comes out of nowhere, and he's gone.' Like other intelligence chiefs, Goff – who served in Europe, the Middle East, and Central and South Asia – believes Putin 'sees a threat in the elite'. 'It's similar to the Italian mafia organised crime in the United States – where if the head was judged bad for business, then the they would get together and take him out. 'So Putin's got to watch out. He's got to watch the economy. 'He's got to watch the loyalty of the oligarchs.' Despite leading a war effort that has been devastating to Russia, Vlad is 'still popular', Goff said. However, 'It's a huge scale of devastation and loss. And that can undermine just about anybody,' he added. As the war rumbles on, Goff revealed the recipe for Ukraine success – more weapons from Europe and targeting Russian assets. 'When the Ukrainians are successfully armed and prepared, they can hold out – and there's an increased chance of forcing some sort of settlement. 'If not, Putin can continue this war for as long as he likes – to the point where the Ukrainians are forced to kind of seek a very disadvantageous peace, or ceasefire.' Goff warns it would be 'very unstable' with 'no guarantee that some sort of war won't break out in the future'. And outside Russia, Goff believes a regime change in Iran would have a direct impact on Putin's war. 'A change in regime would undermine that support and help isolate Russia just a little bit more,' he said.
The Guardian
29-07-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Abramovich business associate Eugene Shvidler fails to overturn UK sanctions
A business associate of the oligarch Roman Abramovich has failed to overturn sanctions imposed on him after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, after a supreme court judgment seen as a test case for the UK's sanctions regime. Eugene Shvidler served on the board of companies owned by the former owner of Chelsea football club and now lives in the US. He was placed under sanctions by the UK government in March 2022 as part of measures to target Russia-linked oligarchs and officials after Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine. Shvidler, who was born in the USSR in 1964, grew up in Moscow but is now a British citizen, had challenged his designation at the high court in 2023 and then appealed against that decision last year. He argued the measures caused disproportionate hardship and discriminated against him as a Russian-born person, while also claiming he was not closely associated enough to Abramovich to justify the Foreign Office's move. On Tuesday, a majority decision of four supreme court justices to one dismissed the businessman's appeal, saying that sanctions had to be tough to be effective. The judgment stated: 'Sanctions often have to be severe and open-ended if they are to be effective. The object of the designation in relation to Mr Shvidler is that he should so far as possible be disabled from enjoying his assets and pursuing his wealthy lifestyle.' The judges added: 'We accept that [the government's] evidence establishes that there is a rational connection between the designation of Mr Shvidler and the aim of this sanction … as the courts … correctly recognised in Mr Shvidler's case, the effectiveness of a sanctions regime depends on the cumulative effect of the measures imposed under that regime. The imposition of sanctions in relation to Mr Shvidler contributes to that cumulative effect.' However, in a 20 page dissenting judgment, Lord Leggatt said he disagreed with the majority's decision that the sanctions were lawful, describing it as 'Orwellian' and arguing he did not consider the government had shown a rational connection between the freezing of Shvidler's assets and the objective of sanctions. 'I do not consider that the reasons relied on by the government come close to justifying such a drastic curtailment of his liberty,' he wrote. Shvidler said: 'This supreme court judgment brings me back to the USSR, which I left as a stateless refugee 36 years ago, seeking sanctuary in the US. Back then, individuals could be stripped of their rights with little or no protections and that is how I feel about this judgment.' Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion The UK government imposed sanctions on Shvidler on grounds including that he was associated with Abramovich, who in turn had obtained a benefit from or supported the government of Russia. The Foreign Office argued the men were associated because Shvidler was a long-serving director of Evraz, a steel and mining company in which Abramovich was a leading shareholder. It said he had also served as chair of Millhouse LLC, the Moscow-based arm of the UK company that managed assets for Abramovich and Shvidler himself. In a related case, the judges unanimously dismissed an appeal by Dalston Projects Ltd, a St Kitts and Nevis company that owns a luxury yacht that has been detained at a London dock. The ultimate owner of the yacht is Sergei Naumenko, a Russian citizen and resident who said he had been prevented from earning substantial income from chartering the vessel.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Granderson: Voters who don't vote? This is one way democracy can die, by 20 million cuts
During China's imperial age, those deemed guilty of the worst offenses were sometimes sentenced to death in a public square by a brutal form of execution known as lingchi. Soldiers — using sharp blades — would slice away pieces of flesh from the accused until they died. Translated, lingchi means 'death by a thousand cuts.' Maybe democracy does die in darkness, as journalist Bob Woodward often suggests. Or maybe democracy's demise comes in the light of day, in a public forum, where everyone can bear witness. Sometimes those holding the knives are the oligarchs or elected officials drenched in corruption. And sometimes there's blood on the hands of the people. On Saturday, voters in San Antonio — the seventh-largest city in the country — are headed to the polls to decide the first open mayoral race since President Obama's first term. Or at least some voters will be. In November 2024, nearly 60% of the 1.3 million registered voters in the county cast a ballot in the general election. However, in the local election held last month, barely 10% showed up to the polls. Before anyone starts throwing shade at San Antonio, in Dallas the turnout was even lower. Lackluster participation in an 'off year' election is not new. However, the mayoral race in San Antonio has increased national interest because the outcome is being viewed as a litmus test for both the strength of the Democrats' resistance and the public's appetite for the White House's policies. Like other big blue cities nestled in legislatively red states, San Antonio's progressive policies have been under constant assault from the governor's mansion. And with neither the progressive candidate, Gina Ortiz Jones, or her MAGA-leaning opponent, Rolando Pablos, eclipsing 50% of the vote in May, the runoff has drawn more than $1 million in campaign spending from outside conservative groups looking to flip the traditionally blue stronghold. The outcome could provide a possible glimpse into the 2026 mayoral race in Los Angeles, should the formerly Republican Rick Caruso decide to run against Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat. When the two faced off in 2022, around 44% of the city's registered voters went to the polls. Caruso lost by less than 90,000 votes in a city with 2.1 million registered voters — most of whom didn't submit a ballot. It is rather astonishing how little we actually participate in democracy, given the amount of tax dollars we have spent trying to convince other nations that our government system is the best on the planet. Capitulating to President Trump's unsubstantiated claims of mass voter fraud, many local conservative elected officials have tried to ram through a litany of 'voter integrity' policies under the guise of protecting democracy. However, democracy is not a delicate flower in need of protection. It's a muscle in need of exercise. 'Some people find voting to be a chore,' Michele Carew, the elections administrator for Bexar County — which includes San Antonio — told me. 'We need to make voting easier and quite frankly, fun. And we need to get those who don't feel like their vote counts to see that it does. That means getting out and talking to people in our neighborhood, in our churches, in our grocery stores … about when elections are coming up and what's at stake locally.' Carew said that the added outside interest in the city's election has driven up early voting a tick and that she expects to see roughly a 15% turnout, which is an increase over previous years. It could be worse. The city once elected a mayor with 7% turnout back in 2013. Carew also expressed concern about outside influence on local governing. 'One of the first times I saw these nonpartisan races become more political was in 2020, and so as time goes by it's gotten even more so. I would like to think once the candidate is elected mayor they remain nonpartisan and do what's best for the city and not their party.' In 2024, a presidential election year when you'd expect the highest turnout, 1 in 3 registered voters across this country — roughly 20 million people — took a look around and said, 'Nah, I'm good.' Or something like that. The highest turnout was in Washington, D.C., where nearly 80% showed up. Too bad it's not a state. Among the lowest turnout rates? Texas — which has the second-greatest number of voters, behind only California. And therein lies the problem with trying to extrapolate national trends from local elections. Maybe Ortiz Jones will win in San Antonio this weekend. Maybe Caruso will win in L.A. next year. None of this tells us how the vast majority of Americans are really feeling. Sure, it's good fodder to debate around the table or on cable news shows, but ultimately the sample size of a mayoral election belies any claims about a result's meaning. Turnout during an off year is just too low. One thing we know for certain is most voters in America exercise their right to vote only once every four years. Oligarchs and corrupt officials are not great, but it's hard for democracy to stay healthy and strong if that's all the exercise it's getting. @LZGranderson If it's in the news right now, the L.A. Times' Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
