As sanctions rise, Russian billionaires reshape fortunes while they can

But the truth is murkier - revealed in arcane corporate filings that can take days before becoming public

In the dark of night on March 4, Italian police in the Ligurian port of Imperia encircled a 215-foot superyacht belonging to Russia’s fourth-richest person, Alexey Mordashov. 

The European Union had sanctioned the billionaire on February 28, days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His extensive holdings in Europe — including “Lady M,” with its swimming pool and beauty salon — were seemingly frozen by authorities. 

Mordashov, however, had already made moves of his own. 

The same day the steel tycoon was sanctioned, he shifted control of a roughly $1.1 billion stake in London-based mining company Nordgold to his wife, Marina Mordashova. He also