The task force tracks down the assets of oligarchs attempting to evade sanctions.
April 5, 2022 1:00 am
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A yacht owned by Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg has been seized at the Marina Real in the Spanish port of Palma de Mallorca, according to court documents unsealed on Monday.
The yacht was seized on Monday by Spanish authorities and KleptoCapture, the Justice Department’s task force tasked with finding the assets of oligarchs trying to evade sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We will now seek to confiscate the ship as proceeds of a crime,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a video message released Monday by the Justice Department.
A spokesman for Vekselberg did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
Civil Guards escort U.S. FBI agents and a U.S. Homeland Security agent from the yacht named Tango in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, April 4, 2022.
Vekselberg was named an oligarch by US authorities in 2018 when he was sanctioned by the United States following the Russian invasion of Crimea.
Court documents say Vekselberg faced further sanctions after Russia invaded Ukraine.
In addition to the seizure of Vekselberg’s yacht, US authorities Monday in Washington, DC obtained unsealed seizure warrants targeting about $625,000 related to sanctioned parties being held at nine US financial institutions, the Justice Department said.
The KleptoCapture task force attempts to locate yachts, airplanes, and other personal property before it can be taken to jurisdictions where U.S. authorities may find it more difficult to investigate.
“The point of prosecuting Putin’s cronies and Russian oligarchs who try to violate our laws and protect their assets is to say that no one is beyond the reach of our justice system, beyond the reach of our work and cooperation with our allies Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco told ABC News’ Byron Pitts last month. “And that these cronies and oligarchs trying to support and bolster the Russian regime shouldn’t get away with it while people are dying.”