Sanctions — how they work, and how oligarchs get around them

Think of the word oligarch, and the prefix 'sanctioned' is almost inevitable.

Known as 'targeted sanctions' as they aim to hold individuals rather than states to account, asset freezes and travel bans are a mainstay of the collective Western response to Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

But that is far from the only way they are used. Sanctions are also imposed to address corruption and human rights abuse, based on what is often described as Magnitsky laws — after the lawyer ...