We aren’t going after Russian oligarchs in the right way. Here’s how to do it

We’re sanctioning Russian oligarchs up the wazoo, hoping it’s a way to get Putin to stop his deadly attack on Ukraine.

But for this tactic to work, two conditions must be met: first, the US and our allies must be able to locate and tie up Russian oligarchic wealth. Second, Russian oligarchs must have enough power to stop Putin.

Let’s take them one at a time:

Can we locate and tie up the wealth of Russian oligarchs?

Anecdotally, sanctions on the oligarchs appear to be working. Last Sunday, the billionaire industrialist Oleg Deripaska (on the US sanctions list) and banker Mikhail Fridman (on the EU’s) both publicly urged an end to Putin’s war.