18 February 2026
The largest property redistribution in Russia since the 1990s affected dozens of Forbes billionaires and nearly 20 of the largest companies by revenue, according to a study by the Cedar think tank, cited by The Bell. The authors estimate that the value of seized assets between 2022 and 2024 will be approximately 5 trillion rubles. The main beneficiaries of this process were state corporations and Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.
Between 2014 and 2025, 30 of the 311 people on the Forbes list, or approximately 9%, faced nationalization or forced asset sales under non-market conditions. Of these, 17 were among the top 100 richest businessmen of the last decade. If we consider the Forbes rankings for 2021–2023, the share of those affected increases to 12%, with 25 of the 204 billionaires affected. Of the 30 businessmen who faced asset seizure, 20 encountered law enforcement agencies. The total value of their seized assets is estimated at 2.6 trillion rubles. In 13 cases, the entrepreneurs lost their core businesses in Russia. Another nine cases involved forced asset sales after the outbreak of war. The value of these companies exceeded 1.6 trillion rubles.
Denis Shtengelov, owner of the food holding company KDV Group, suffered the largest losses. His assets, worth approximately 500 billion rubles, were seized. The court declared him and his father an “extremist organization,” and the company was accused of operating “to the detriment of Russia’s strategic interests.” Second and third place went to former co-owners of Domodedovo Airport, Dmitry Kamenshchik and Valery Kogan. Their assets were sold in January to a Sheremetyevo Airport subsidiary associated with Arkady Rotenberg. The businessmen managed to defend their assets in only five cases. The report’s authors cite the case of billionaire Andrey Melnichenko and the owner of the energy company SibECO as the most significant. His company reached a settlement with the Prosecutor General’s Office, paying an undisclosed sum for social causes.
The study’s authors note that the redistribution of property began in 2021, but its pace has accelerated sharply since the war began. While 17 confiscations were recorded in 2022, 40 were recorded in 2023, 37 in 2024, and nearly 70 in 2025. The total value of assets for which the Prosecutor General’s Office filed confiscation lawsuits has almost reached 5 trillion rubles. Despite the trillion-ruble losses suffered by billionaires, the majority of these confiscations were attributed to former and current officials, members of parliament, security officials, judges, and regional businessmen, the report’s authors note.
The most common formal basis for lawsuits was violation of anti-corruption legislation. This wording appeared in 67 of the 170 cases. This was followed by the review of previously concluded transactions (21 cases), accusations of illegal privatization and financing of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (14 cases each), and demands for the return of strategic assets and patents for military developments. The authors cite foreign citizenship, temporary residence permits, or permanent residence abroad as a serious risk factor for business owners. In 65 cases, the owners of the seized assets were located outside of Russia, and in another 59, they held foreign residence permits.
The main beneficiaries of the property redistribution were the largest state corporations: Gazprom, Rosatom, Rostec, Transneft, VTB, Rosselkhozbank—as well as business groups associated with the president’s old acquaintances (the Kovalchuks, Rotenbergs, and Patrushevs). They received assets in over 90% of the Prosecutor General’s Office’s lawsuits (16).
The study’s authors warn that large-scale property confiscation creates long-term risks for the economy: it undermines investment attractiveness, increases business dependence on the government, and reduces competition. Cedar estimates that the overconcentration of state assets will inevitably hinder productivity growth and slow economic development.
“Cedar estimates that the overconcentration of state assets will inevitably hinder productivity growth and slow economic development.”
That’s just what the sick mafia economy can use … to accelerate its death.
I suppose that none of those mafia oligarchs will lift a finger to stop the ghoul from robbing them of their robbed money?
Im trying to understand how all these “billionaires” would go through this, not have an incredible amount of anamosity and anger built up, and not assainate the ghoul…
You’d figure that if they can’t smash the little roach individually, they would get together to do it.