Russian security services are confiscating the passports of prominent officials and executives of state-owned companies, to prevent travel abroad, amid fears of defections from the regime, the Financial Times reports on Monday.
Security officials have tightened travel requirements within the state sector, requiring travel documents for leading figures to be handed over, according to several people familiar with the matter, the British business daily added.
The move reflects deep suspicion in the Kremlin and the FSB, the KGB’s successor intelligence services, about the loyalty of Russia’s civilian elite, many of whom privately oppose the war in Ukraine and are uncomfortable with the impact of conflict on your way. of life, according to the FT.
Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Russia had tightened restrictions on foreign travel for people working in “sensitive” fields.
“There are stricter rules for this. In some places they have been formalized and in others they depend on a specific decision of specific employees,” he told the FT.
Since Soviet times, mid-level Russian officials with access to state secrets have been forced to leave their passports in a secure place by the “special department” embedded in their ministries and companies.
However, Russia’s security services rarely enforced these rules, according to former officials and executives.
The situation changed after the invasion of Crimea in 2014, when the security services began to warn against traveling to countries such as the United States or the United Kingdom.
Since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the restrictions apply much more.
Source: TSF
