Roman Abramovich, Russia's richest and most elusive oligarch, is facing legal woes that threaten to end the Chelsea Football Club owner's legendary winning streak.
Mr Abramovich - whose route to fabulous post-Soviet riches was marked by Kremlin intrigues and allegations of business backstabbing - appeared to be on the verge of selling his crown jewel, the Russian oil major Sibneft, and retiring to international jet-set heaven when the wave of troubles struck this month.
The worst blow came in a court ruling last week in the British Virgin Islands - where many of his offshore business interests are registered - ordering the billionaire to publicly disclose each of his assets worth more than $1 million by Wednesday.
'For a Russian oligarch, such a demand is not only extremely painful, it may be very difficult to meet,' says Yevgeny Gavrilenko, chief economist of leading Russian brokerage Troika Dialogue. 'His holdings will be buried in a dense web of offshore companies, with various owners, and almost impossible to unravel.
'Hiding the wealth is a Russian tycoon's main game, and Abramovich plays it better than most.'
The 38-year-old who started out selling plastic bathroom fixtures from his Moscow flat was named by Forbes magazine as Russia's wealthiest man - and the world's 21st richest - in May, with a US$14.7 billion fortune.