Wealthy Russian tycoon latest oligarch to renounce citizenship, taking count to seven

The former partner of Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, businessman Vasily Anisimov, became the seventh billionaire to renounce Russian citizenship after the start of the war in Ukraine, according to reports of Russian media.

Forbes states that Anisimov made this move back in September 2022, but it remained unknown until now.

Currently, the businessman, who lives in Switzerland, still holds the citizenships of Dominica and Croatia. He received his first citizenship back in the mid-1990s for $60,000. Anisimov acquired a Croatian passport in October 2003, investing in real estate in the country with a total value of $11 million. These funds were directed, in particular, to the construction of a sports base on the island of Korčula in Croatia, where Russian gymnasts trained in Ukraine until the outbreak of full-scale war.

Anisimov claims that he no longer owns any assets in Russia and has placed his former company Coalco, along with Bolshoe Domodedovo, under management. However, he continues to visit the country, receiving a business visa at the invitation of Bolshoe Domodedovo.

According to Forbes, Anisimov's net worth is $1.6 billion. These are mainly funds received from the sale of his share in Mikhailovsky GOK iron ore mining and processing plant to Usmanov and other assets. In addition, the businessman has interests in Kazakhstan and Africa. In 2022, he also started investing in real estate in the United Arab Emirates.

Before that, a number of big businessmen renounced their Russian citizenship. Among them: the founder and main owner of the Freedom Holding Timur Turlov ($2.4 billion in wealth), the founder of the Troika Dialog investment company Ruben Vardanyan ($1.3 billion), the founder of the DST Global investment company Yuri Milner ($7.3 billion), the founder Revolut neobank Nikolay Storonsky ($7.1 billion), the founder of the energy company Areti Igor Makarov ($2.2 billion) and the founder of Tinkoff Group Oleg Tinkov ($0.86 billion, the estimate was made after the sale of Tinkoff Bank).