Punishing Putin : inside the global economic war to bring down Russia / Stephanie Baker.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 289-335) and index.

Part I the economic war begins -- Prologue we are coming for your superyacht -- Attacking fortress Russia -- Hunting Russian kleptocrats -- Part II from oligarchs to the rise of Putin -- Democracy derailed -- Putin's calculus -- Oligarchs in America -- Part III loopholes, divestments, and their discontents -- Microchip monte -- Corporate hostages -- How to sell a soccer club -- Part IV follow the money and the oil . . . If you can -- Cyprus: the Trojan horse -- A glittering Moscow-on-the-gulf -- Capping Putin's war premium -- Part V waiting for the end game -- Freezing Londongrad -- Will Russia pay? -- Epilogue end game.

"Undeterred by eight years of timid US sanctions, Vladimir Putin ordered his full-scale assault on Ukraine on February 24, 2022. In the hours that followed across the world, Western leaders weaponized economic tools to counter an unprecedented land grab by a nuclear-armed power. What followed was an undeniably world-changing financial experiment that risked throwing the world into a devastating recession. The end goal was simple: to sap the strength of Putin's war machine and damage the Russian economy-once the eleventh largest on the planet. Here, Russian expert and veteran journalist Stephanie Baker explains in fascinating detail how this furious shadow-war unfolded: its causes, how it is being executed, and its ability to affect Russia and the course of history. From seizing superyachts to manipulating the global price of oil to trying to block the sale of military technology to Russia, we learn how the White House coordinated with top officials in London and Brussels to freeze a staggering $300 billion in foreign currency reserves accumulated in the West by Russia's central bank. Mobilizing an army of white collar-crime investigators and experts on international law, Baker explores how the West has cracked down on illicit Russian money by targeting oligarchs, one superyacht at a time, and their enablers around the world. Filled with propulsive, fly-on-the-wall details, Punishing Putin takes us into the frantic backroom deliberations that led to a whole new era of carefully calculated "economic statecraft" and shows how these new strategies are already radically rearranging global alliances that will influence the world order today, and for generations to come"-- Provided by publisher.