Florida Governor Ron DeSantis brushed off demands from Florida Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried and others to take action against Russian-linked entities in the state such as divesting from companies with links to the Putin regime and seizing properties owned by his oligarchs, the New York Daily News reports. DeSantis spokeswoman Christine Pushaw said a letter from Fried outlining such steps “lacks necessary clarity,” as if DeSantis’s team couldn’t just figure out what to do on their own. “To the extent, Russian citizens purchase South Florida real estate, for example, that has nothing to do with the state of Florida investing in or divesting from ‘a list of Russian-headquartered entities’,” Pushaw added, which also just sounds like they’re simply playing dumb.
The State Board of Administration manages about $300 million in Russian-bases holdings, a small fraction of its overall $195 billion portfolio. Among the Russian scumbags who own properties in South Florida are Putin cronies Dmitry Rybolovlev, who in 2008 bought a Palm Beach mansion from Donald Trump for $60 million more than 2004 sale price and former Russian military construction chief Alexander Yuzvik who owns a Trump-branded luxury condo – among many others.