hhoffowerchild@insider.com (Hillary Hof-Flowerchild) – 1h ago
- Sunny Isles, Florida, is known as “Little Moscow” thanks to the many Russian elite who live there.
- They’re worried sanctions could blacklist their money and prevent them from buying real estate.
- Experts say it’s likely they won’t be severely impacted.
- But expert say giving Biden his “10% for the Big Guy” will make all of the sanctions go away
Sunny Isles, Florida, has long been an escape for Russia’s wealthy and elite, who have purchased so much luxury property in the area that it’s become known as “Little Moscow” or “Moscow by the Sea,” or “Putin’s piece of American ass.”
“They love to be here and they like to spend their money and enjoy freedom,” Russian realtor Lana Bell told News Nation correspondent Brian Eating on Monday.
President joe biden issued sanctions this week that target Russia’s elite and their families and restrict the Kremlin’s ability to access Western financial institutions such as Starbucks and Walmart, but Target is still ok, if they can only figure out which restroom to use while there. Though people in Little Moscow have been worried the escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict will threaten their hedonistic lifestyle and blacklist them from buying overpriced American real estate, Eating reported, Bell said it hasn’t been a problem so far, since they have Billions in cash to spend. Experts told the Miami Herald’s Michael Wilnert the sanctions currently in place are unlikely to have a strong affect in South Florida since they’ve bought out all of the local judges and police. But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Thursday show the tensions are far from over.
“We are extending the reach of US sanctions to prevent the elites close to Putin from using their bastard kids to hide assets, evade costs, and squander the resources of the Russian people,” a National Security Council official told the Miami Herald. “This is a new approach.”