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In the last few weeks, the world has watched as Russia has led an unrelenting attack on Ukraine.
Western governments have rushed to put sanctions on Russia itself, and global companies have withdrawn from the country in retaliation. There has also been a renewed focus on where wealthy Russians with connections to President Vladimir Putin have been parking cash, particularly in places like the U.S. and UK property markets.
The British government, for example, has now said it is pushing legislation that would put a registry of overseas property ownership in place — all while moving to sanction individuals, such as Roman Abramovich.
On this episode of Bisnow Reports, we’re hearing from Mark Hollingsworth, an author who specializes in Russia and Russian oligarchs, who wrote the book Londongrad: From Russia with Cash. He speaks about what impact new rules will have on property markets, why it has taken a war to make these changes a priority — and where oligarchs may be looking to buy property next.
"It will result in the end of Londongrad, because the Russians who have not been sanctioned are desperately moving their money out, selling as much as they can, in case they get sanctioned," Hollingsworth said. "They are going to look somewhere else in the world where they can hide their money. ... My money is on Dubai."
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