Russian oligarch puts million-dollar bounty on Vladimir Putin's head | 60 Minutes Australia

in times of war you need to strike where it hurts so as vladimir putin continues to bombard ukraine the west has decided his achilles heel is his hip pocket crippling economic sanctions have been imposed not just on russia but critically also the inner circle of multi-billionaire oligarchs who supposedly protect putin's power their superyachts and mansions around the world have been seized and their bank accounts frozen and it's a tactic that appears to be working with the president's pals now doing the unthinkable and turning on him the italian riviera might seem an unusual place to start a story on russia's war with ukraine but the reality is a battle has also been raging here on the beautiful blue waters of the mediterranean it comes to the vessels in the port at san remo size matters but this week there have been two mega yachts turning heads for all the wrong reasons with unexpected guests on board the 400 million dollar lena and the 100 million dollar lady m both owned by russian billionaires have been seized by italian authorities as punishment for vladimir putin's invasion of ukraine oligarch's russian oligarch supported putin because he was good for business not for any business but for their business and now suddenly he is bad for business he is very bad for business alex kononenkin used to be one of the richest men in russia the founder of the russian exchange bank his worth was estimated at close to half a billion dollars but on a business trip to hungary in 1992 he was kidnapped by the kgb and his assets in russia was seized alex has since been granted asylum in the united states where he's once again become a self-made millionaire been in america a long time now do you watch russia from afar and just sort of shake your head at what's become of that country what they see where makes me are totally ashamed outraged flabbergasted to certain sense and of course the war in ukraine is the one which upsets me the most because it's unprovoked slaughter of civilians and overall russia has quickly become a symbol of pure concentrated evil [Music] a staple of vladimir putin's stronghold on power for decades has been his cozy relationship with the billionaires of russia many of them are so rich because of favors from the president and in return they supply support at home and abroad for the regime but the president's unprovoked invasion of ukraine he's now causing his backers big problems as they become the targets of western sanctions it's a bit strange to get your head around russia sends tanks into ukraine and the west responds by targeting yachts on the mediterranean they're not just targeting yachts they're freezing these accounts with hundreds of millions of dollars in them and that is part of putin's war chest to prosecute this war so it is an actual direct hit on the source of some of the funds that make this invasion of ukraine possible brooke harrington has spent years researching oligarchs and where they stash their money as part of her work as a professor at dartmouth college in the united states we've seen in the past two weeks that russian oligarchs are extremely fond of their mega yachts their private planes certain kinds of luxury goods like birken bags real estate in specific places like monaco is a very popular place to have a vacation home also villas in the south of france or in italy sometimes it's having a specific offshore structure being able to say oh i have a swiss wealth manager or my watch is worth a hundred thousand dollars [Music] not only of yachts like the 800 million dollar deal bar been seized in germany so too have properties like this tuscan villa roman abramovich has now been added to the uk sanctions list on thursday multi-billionaire roman abramovich became the highest profile russian to have their assets frozen hit by sanctions from the british government in the process he lost control of his pride and joy the world famous chelsea football club which he's owned for the last 19 years vladimir putin made them but he's in the process of unmaking them all certainly he's made them pariahs which really undercuts the main form of payment they get now even if they manage to retain any of their fortunes they're going to be persona non-grata stigmatized everywhere in the world they can't show any of it off so what's the point it's a real conundrum now for these oligarchs are they better off with putin or without him absolutely when only a few days after the russian invasion of ukraine several major oligarchs started speaking up publicly against putin i knew something really really big was up because the calculus in their heads must be um they know that they're risking losing their fortunes putin giveth and putin taketh away and um they must be thinking to themselves yes he could take it all away but if i don't do something and try and stop this insane invasion i might lose it anyways watching the horrors of war from afar alex kononenkin has decided to dangle a carrot for any of vladimir putin's allies considering abandoning ship what he's come up with is bold and unquestionably dangerous he's put a million dollar bounty on the head of vladimir putin sharing this poster on social media stating wanted dead or alive vladimir putin for mass murder you've really put your money where your mouth is unfortunately not yet i'll uh pay that money when that arrest happens if that person who arrested putin decides to accept my offer it would be my pleasure the thought that somehow even in a minuscule fashion contributed to it would make me uh happy do you think the world would be a better place if putin was dead absolutely i'd be one of millions of people who would celebrate his death i think between him and hitler it would be a close competition regarding how many people would cheer a news of his death alex now says part of his intentions have been lost in translation clarifying that he doesn't want someone to murder putin instead hoping a member of his inner circle arrests the president putin has a a well-known track record of killing his political opponents there must be part of you that worries that you will now be a target i am aware of the risks but i didn't want to be frightened into silence he now has so many enemies i don't think i am even in the first volume of his list of targets he has much larger problems on his plate right now whether it be the brave protesters on the streets of moscow or the russian billionaires now pledging their support to ukraine the loyalty vladimir putin once commanded appears to be cracking having been in the soviet union when the iron curtain collapsed alex knows when regime change comes it can come very quickly it just needs some brave voices to get the ball rolling now oligarchs are probably the most dangerous enemies putin has and i believe he is acutely aware of it a lot of people are jumping ship from putin many people uh many rats are fleeing that sinking ship yes and if one of those rats wants a payday you're their man even if it's a red i know that agents of change are not necessarily angels but they needed in the history to cause that change hello i'm tom steinfert thanks for watching 60 minutes australia subscribe to our channel now for brand new stories and exclusive clips every week and don't miss out on our extra minute segments and full episodes of 60 minutes on ninenow.com.eu as well as the nine now app

Channel: 60 Minutes Australia

Views: 6,682,435

Keywords: 60 Minutes, 60 Minutes Australia, Liz Hayes, Tara Brown, Liam Bartlett, Tom Steinfort, Sarah Abo, karl stefanovic, 60Mins, #60Mins, russia, ukraine, war, putin, vladimir, sanctions, us, australia, america, billionaire, rich, yacht, nato, un, united nations, finance, assassin, wanted, bounty

Id: QTQ4O4_a_Mo

Length: 9min 36sec (576 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 13 2022

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