And this is the regime’s Achilles’ heel, Gudkov says, because Putin “is concerned about his own money.” It scarcely matters that the amount uncovered by the Panama Papers, all linked to the Russian president’s longtime cronies and thought to be held in their name on his behalf, was a measly $2 billion, “money for tips,” as Gudkov puts it. No, what matters is that this disclosure sent a signal to the Kremlin that if “they continue to escalate, there will be more consequences. When these things are revealed, they can be investigated by security services in the United States or other countries.” Putin is really only terrified only of having his personal fortune frozen or confiscated.
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