The next more severe curse after “May you live in Interesting Times” is “May you come to the attention of the Authorities.”  Unfortunately for wealthy business people in Russia, this curse has become an increasingly real possibility  This trend certainly looks to become a route as Vladimir Putin is coming under intense pressure from the masses to ease the pending pain of the world fiscal crisis  .

Two weeks ago, I had an opportunity to share a drink in London with well-know international lawyer Robert Amsterdam LINK. During our conversation, we discussed one of Robert’s best know clients Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Mr. Khodorkovsky, was the founder of Russia’s largest oil company, Yukos Oil and was arrested and later imprisoned after Russian leader Vladimir Putin seized his company and charged him with tax fraud in 2003 LINK. Robert and I discussed how differently things would have been if Mr. Khodorkovsky had more than just a Russian passport in his Passport Portfolio, when his arguments with Mr. Putin began. With additional citizenships and residences in place, he may have avoided arrest entirely or been freed by diplomatic pressure brought by the foreign countries where he also had citizenship or residence. Being located outside of Russia and having an unrestricted ability to travel globally and operate in countries where international law prevails, Mr. Khodorkovsky would have been able to put forward a proper and successful defense to the fraud charges. He probably would have been able to successfully stop the ultimate seizure and sale of Yukos Oil and avoided eight years of imprisonment.

While Russia is one country where the wealthy are coming increasing to the “attention of the Authorities,” it is by no means the only place. Other countries which do not have a history of “the Rule of Law” are also sweeping their wealthy off the streets, denying them legal counsel and seizing their assets. In November, Billionaire Chinese businessman Huang Guangyu was snatched by authorities who not only didn’t formally arrest him, they even refused to confirm that he was in custody . This was not the first time that China had done this  and with the deepening of the financial downturn, it isn’t difficult to speculate that it won’t be the last. In this poor global economy, an increasing number of countries (especially those dependent on now- depressed oil and commodity prices like Iran, the Gulf States, South Africa, Nigeria and Venezuela) will become tempted to look at “seizing” or “nationalizing” private assets for their own benefit.

While some would argue that Mr. Khodorkovsky and Mr. Guangyu must have been criminals and therefore deserved to be arrested and convicted, lawyers like Robert and I would remind them of that fine human rights tradition regarding the “presumption of innocence” LINK. As in many things in life, those who rely on others (including the state) to guarantee those rights may be gravely disappointed. The survivors will be those who took the personal responsibility to protect themselves, their family and their wealth.

David S. Lesperance, Barrister and Solicitor 

This is the first of a series of ancient Chinese Curses LINK, and few people on earth would challenge that these are VERY interesting times. In order to survive and even thrive during interesting times, people must throw away old assumptions, shake off their inertia, and seek knowledge and solutions that may have seemed arcane or farfetched in the past.

As you may have read and learned in other areas on this site, for years I have been helping clients acclimate to changes in their world using Passport Portfolio™ Diversification. This blog, will be dedicated to examining the most significant events and identify the emerging trends which could impact my clients and their advisors. Along with contributions from myself and other members of my firm, I have also invited Guest Bloggers from the legal, financial, academic, business, media and consulting worlds to provide their unique insights and perspective. Finally, I also look forward to comment and discussion from the readers, in the hope that a particular blog post will spark a conversation that we all find useful. Enjoy.

David S. Lesperance, Barrister and Solicitor