On the Money: oligarchs, espionage and the overlooked

Russian oligarch and NZ luxury bach-owner Alexander Abramov presses the flesh with Vladimir Putin in 2017. (Image: Getty)

Pattrick Smellie

Sat, 05 Mar 2022

Made manNew Zealand’s lack of an autonomous sanctions regime that would allow economic sanctions to be imposed on, for example, any locally connected Russian oligarchs, was a bit of an embarrassment for the government this week. The Wall Street Journal ran a prominent story about NZ sitting this one out as the rest of the western world scrambled to cripple the Russian economy in response to its war on Ukraine.NZ only appears to have one significant target, steel industry oligarch Alexander Abramov, whose private jet may have bee...

Subscribe to BusinessDesk

Stay informed on business, government and financial developments across New Zealand.

Deeply researched, twice-edited and fact-checked news
Annual subscribers also receive a complimentary subscription to The Wall Street Journal
Personalised email news alerts, plus gift up to 5 stories a month to non-subscribers

You can cancel anytime with two clicks, an email or a phone call.
Find out more.

We are serious about journalism.

Already a Subscriber ? Sign in here.

Name {{ registerForm.errors.get('name') }}

Email address {{ registerForm.errors.get('email') }}

Phone Number {{ registerForm.errors.get('phone') }}

Job Title {{ registerForm.errors.get('title') }}

Password Minimum password length of 8 characters.
Require at least one upper and lowercase, numeric, and special character. {{ registerForm.errors.get('password') }}

Repeat password {{ registerForm.errors.get('password_confirmation') }}

We had trouble validating your card. It's possible your card provider is preventing us from charging the card. Please contact your card provider or customer support.

Credit Card

Cardholder's name

{{ __(plans[index].name) | capitalize }} {{ plans[index].attributes.old_price | currency }} {{ plans[index].price | currency }}

All subscriptions auto renew but are easy to cancel.

I Accept The Terms Of Service

{{ registerForm.errors.get('terms') }}

Tax: {{ taxAmount(selectedPlan) | currency }}

Total Price Including Tax: {{ priceWithTax(selectedPlan) | currency }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerSeat ? '/ '+ spark.seatName : '' }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerTeam ? '/ '+ __('teams.team') : '' }} / {{ __(selectedPlan.interval) | capitalize }}

Finance

RBNZ resists capital settings-research criticisms

The RBNZ has no intention of extending the deadline for submissions beyond Oct 3.

Andy Macdonald 5:00am

Primary Sector

The NZX discount: Are local investors missing value?

The local bourse has already lost four this year.

Riley Kennedy and Rebecca Stevenson 5:00am

The NZX discount: Are local investors missing value?

Retail

Warehouse chief says layoffs on table amid profitability dearth

Margin pressure is compounding analyst concerns that cuts can only cut so deep.

Gregor Thompson 5:00am

Warehouse chief says layoffs on table amid profitability dearth

Sponsored

Fiji’s exclusive side revealed

Private islands and 5-star luxury, closer than you think.

Tourism Fiji

Sponsored

The double edge of AI in cyber security

Artificial intelligence has the potential to become both a lifeline and a liability for modern organisations, as a revolutionary tool capable of spotting threats at lightning speed, but also the ultimate weapon in the hands of cybercriminals.

Spark