 Passports of Russian officials are confiscated to prevent them from fleeing abroad. Russia's security services are confiscating the passports of senior officials and state company executives to prevent overseas travel as paranoia over leaks and defections spread through President Vladimir Putin's regime. The Financial Times newspaper reported on this. With Russia's invasion of Ukraine still raging, security officers have tightened travel requirements within the state sector, demanding the surrender of travel documents from some prominent figures and former officials, said several people familiar with the matter. The increased pressure reflects deep suspicion in the Kremlin and FSB, the KGB's successor agency about the loyalty of Russia's civilian elite, many of whom privately oppose the war in Ukraine and are chafing over its impact on their lifestyles. Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesperson confirmed, Russia has tightened the restrictions on foreign travel for some who work in sensitive areas. There are stricter rules for this. In some places they are formalized and in some places they depend on a specific decision about specific employees, he told the Financial Times. Since the start of the special military operation, more attention has been paid to this issue. Officials at one major state industrial company are banned from traveling more than two hours drive from Moscow without official permission, one of the people said. Alexandra Prokopenko, a former Russian central bank official, said passport restrictions had now expanded beyond individuals with security clearance. Now they are coming to certain people and saying, please hand in your red civilian passports because you have access to sensitive information for the motherland, so we want to control your movements, she said.