Several of Russia’s richest businessmen have moved billions of dollars out of the country over the past year amid growing concern about the state of the country’s economy and government budget, Bloomberg writes, citing informed sources.

The businessmen, some of whom are close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, also fear that their assets could be seized, as happened, for example, to former Domodedovo Airport owner Dmitry Kamenshchik.

In addition, business representatives fear that the state will increase pressure on them to finance the war. Bloomberg recalls that in March, at a meeting with Putin, leading businessmen were invited to donate funds for the war. According to the Kremlin’s version, the businessmen were not asked but came forward with such an initiative themselves.

According to the publication’s sources, over the past year the wealthiest businessmen have revised their investment portfolios in favor of investments in cryptocurrency, gold, and real estate abroad.

It is difficult to accurately assess the scale of the unofficial capital outflow, for example through cryptocurrency transactions, Bloomberg acknowledges. However, according to two sources familiar with the investment decisions of several of Russia’s wealthiest businessmen, the sum amounts to tens of billions of dollars. Compared with the previous year, they noted, capital outflow has increased.

Bloomberg notes that, in trying to move assets beyond the Kremlin’s reach, Russian businessmen are forced to take into account Western sanctions imposed on Russia over the war in Ukraine.

In this connection, the publication mentions the company A7, whose listed owners are fugitive Moldovan businessman Ilan Shor and the Russian state-owned bank PSB (formerly Promsvyazbank). A7 handles cross-border payments using the ruble-pegged A7A5 cryptocurrency. PSB stated that in the first half of 2025, the volume of transactions through A7 exceeded 7.5 trillion rubles in equivalent value (about $98 billion).