A joint investigation has revealed that Sergey Khotimsky, a co-owner of one of Russia's largest banks, transferred ownership of millions of dollars in U.S. real estate just days before he was personally sanctioned by the American government following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The assets, including a luxury mansion and commercial properties, have since avoided being frozen.
Key Takeaways
- Sergey Khotimsky, a top executive at Sovcombank, transferred a mansion valued at nearly $6 million to his ex-wife 11 days before being sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury.
- Companies linked to Khotimsky and his ex-wife had invested over $37 million in commercial real estate in Georgia, which also avoided sanctions through ownership changes.
- Other Sovcombank executives had their U.S. properties, worth a combined $22 million, frozen by the sanctions.
- The transfers occurred as Sovcombank, a major Russian financial institution with ties to state projects, came under intense international pressure.
Assets Shifted Ahead of Treasury Action
Sovcombank, one of Russia's top ten banks by assets, and its senior leadership faced U.S. sanctions on the day of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. A month later, personal sanctions were extended to co-owner Sergey Khotimsky, his brother Dmitry, and other top executives.
However, an investigation by The Post and Courier, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and IStories found that key U.S. assets linked to Sergey Khotimsky were moved out of his name in a timely manner. This allowed the properties to remain active and profitable, unlike assets owned by his sanctioned colleagues.
The Palmetto Bluff Mansion
At the center of the asset transfers is a three-story mansion in Palmetto Bluff, an exclusive resort community in South Carolina. The property, valued at nearly $6 million, was transferred by Khotimsky to his former wife, Elena Baskina, on March 13, 2022.
According to county property records, this transfer was completed just 11 days before the U.S. Treasury Department officially added Khotimsky to its sanctions list on March 24, 2022. While mansions owned by other Sovcombank executives in the same resort remain vacant and frozen, Khotimsky's former home is now available as a rental property, listed for more than $2,000 per night.
Timeline of Events
- Feb. 24, 2022: Sovcombank is sanctioned by the U.S.
- March 13, 2022: Sergey Khotimsky transfers his $6 million South Carolina mansion to his ex-wife.
- Mid-March 2022: Ownership of Georgia-based commercial real estate companies is also transferred.
- March 24, 2022: Sergey Khotimsky is personally sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury.
A Broader Portfolio in Georgia
The investigation also uncovered a significant portfolio of commercial real estate in the state of Georgia. From 2014 to 2021, companies connected to Khotimsky and Baskina invested more than $37 million into various properties.
These properties primarily consist of buildings leased to retail stores and popular local restaurants. Like the South Carolina mansion, these commercial assets also appear to have escaped the impact of the sanctions. Business owners leasing the properties were informed of ownership changes around the time sanctions were imposed, but the identities of the new owners were not always made clear.
One tenant, Doug Landau, who owns a pub in a building formerly owned by a Khotimsky-linked company, told reporters he became concerned after seeing his landlord's name on a sanctions list. After hiring legal counsel, he was informed that the company he paid approximately $30,000 per month in rent to had a new owner, though the specific details of the transfer remained private.
Who is Sovcombank?
Sovcombank is a systemically important Russian bank with significant ties to the state. It holds a large share of the bank guarantees market, including for government contracts with the Ministry of Defense. In 2025, it was named the sole private lender for the construction of the Moscow-St. Petersburg high-speed railway, a major national infrastructure project.
Explanation from Former Spouse
Elena Baskina, who divorced Khotimsky in 2018, stated that the asset transfers were part of a renegotiation of their divorce settlement that began in the summer of 2021. She told reporters she has lived in the U.S. since 2015 and wanted to consolidate her assets in America.
"I wanted all my assets and sources of income to be in the U.S. and under my control in exchange for transferring Russian assets to my ex-husband and waiving child support," Baskina explained in a statement.
She described the entire process as taking "several months," with the final steps completed around mid-March 2022, just before Khotimsky was sanctioned. Baskina maintained that the timing was a coincidence and denied any attempt to circumvent sanctions, stating that any insinuation she participated in hiding assets would be "harmful and unfair."
Experts Note a Pattern
Financial crime experts have noted that such asset transfers to family members and former spouses became a common tactic among the Russian elite in the period surrounding the 2022 invasion.
Kimberly Donovan, a former deputy director at the U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), observed a widespread pattern of Russian elites moving assets to relatives and associates in the weeks leading up to the invasion.
Ilya Shumanov of Transparency International–Russia commented that sanctions against Sovcombank and its executives were an expected outcome due to the bank's close ties to the Russian state. "In my view, they were definitely prepared for this," Shumanov added.
In early 2022, Sovcombank had retained the American lobbying firm Mercury Public Affairs in an attempt to argue against the imposition of sanctions, claiming they would have "serious negative consequences for the market." The effort was ultimately unsuccessful. Sergey Khotimsky and other sanctioned bankers mentioned in the original reports did not respond to requests for comment.
