Since February 21, when Russia acknowledged the separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, laying the groundwork for the special military operation three days later, Western nations have instituted a succession of economic sanctions against hundreds of Russian political leaders and corporate tycoons who regulate the country's media, financial institutions, oil refineries, and other critical industries.
Several of Russia's wealthiest people were amongst those who have been sanctioned. There seem to be roughly 100 Russian billionaires (in U.S. dollars), depending on which list you consult. Seventeen are currently subject to sanctions enforced by the United States, the United Kingdom, or the European Union, which prevent them from retrieving their abroad holdings or doing business with Western firms.
For their actions in allowing Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, several have been sanctioned for years.
Plenty of them are...