Russia confiscates passports of senior officials to stop defections
Russia’s security services are confiscating the passports of senior officials and state company executives to prevent overseas travel, as paranoia over leaks and defections spreads through President Vladimir Putin’s regime, The Financial Times reports.
With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine still raging, security officers have tightened travel requirements within the state sector, demanding the surrender of travel documents from some prominent figures and former officials, said several people familiar with the matter.
The increased pressure reflects deep suspicion in the Kremlin and FSB, the KGB’s successor agency, about the loyalty of Russia’s civilian elite, many of whom privately oppose the war in Ukraine and are chafing over its impact on their lifestyles. Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesperson, confirmed Russia had tightened the restrictions on foreign travel for some who work in “sensitive” areas.
“There are stricter rules for this. In some places they are formalised and in some places they depend on a specific decision . . . about specific employees,” he told the Financial Times. “Since the start of the special military operation, more attention has been paid to this issue.”
Russia’s security services have almost total leeway to interpret the rules under revisions to laws on state secrets, espionage and treason, said Prokopenko. She quit the central bank after the invasion last year and is now a visiting fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations.
