A report by The Insider has revealed that Russian oligarchs close to Vladimir Putin continue to profit from exports to the West, circumventing sanctions through a loophole that allows companies to operate in EU markets provided that the share owned by the sanctioned individuals is less than 50%.

The report highlights how some of Russia’s most controversial oligarchs, including Gennady Timchenko, Alisher Usmanov and Oleg Deripaska, are earning billions from trade with Europe.

If an oligarch is sanctioned, that restriction does not automatically apply to his assets. Sanctions are triggered when an individual’s combined stake reaches 50%. Alternatively, if there are several sanctioned co-owners, they must hold half of the shares in total.

Some oligarchs therefore evade sanctions by reducing their stakes. Oleg Deripaska, for example, has decreased his stake in En+ and Rusal. Currently, Deripaska controls 35% of En+, which itself owns nearly 57% of aluminium giant Rusal.

According to The Insider, Deripaska uses earnings from the West to maintain his own private military company, which is fighting in Ukraine. Deripaska’s fortune increased by more than 50% between 2022 and 2024 and, according to Forbes, now stands at USD 2.8 billion.