In response to the invasion of Ukraine, countries around the world continue to attack Russian oligarchs, a wealthy elite class who are among President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies.
The European Union and the United States have targeted specific Russians and their families in an attempt to punish those who profited from the Putin regime. Russia launched an invasion on February 24, sparking what the United Nations calls the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin last Wednesday. (Mikhail Klimentiev/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)
It is hoped that targeted sanctions against the national elite will help end the conflict. There is some evidence that this tactic is working: some Russian billionaires, while careful not to directly refute the Kremlin, are now calling for peace in Ukraine.
Here is a breakdown of what the US and European countries are doing to put pressure on the oligarchs.
United States
In his State of the Union address last week, President Biden announced that the Justice Department would form a task force to look into the assets of dozens of powerful Russians, their families and their associates.
“I tell the Russian oligarchs and corrupt leaders who embezzled billions of dollars from this brutal regime, enough is enough,” Biden said. “We are teaming up with our European allies to find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets. We’re coming for your wicked acquisitions.
The next day, the Justice Department announced the launch of KleptoCapture, a task force made up of members of the FBI, Marshals, Secret Service, Homeland Security, IRS, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
The Justice Department said that even if those found violating sanctions fail to be apprehended, the US government will attempt to seize their assets. The task force will focus on violations of current and future sanctions, any attempt to undermine restrictions on Russian banks and those using cryptocurrencies to circumvent sanctions.
The story goes on
Attorney General Merrick Garland. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“We will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to investigate, arrest and prosecute those whose criminal acts allow the Russian government to continue this unjust war,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement announcing the group.
KleptoCapture will be overseen by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, who said in a statement: “To those who support the Russian regime through corruption and sanctions evasion: we will remove your asylum and hold you accountable. We warn the oligarchs: we will use all means to freeze and confiscate your criminal proceeds.”
Speaking before a Cabinet meeting last Thursday, Biden announced that new names were being added to the list, including those “who line their pockets with the money of the Russian people … while Ukraine and the people hide in the subway from rockets that are launched.” indiscriminately in the cities of Russia. Biden added that he is also banning dozens of people from traveling to the United States.
The White House has previously said that, after consulting with European allies, it will impose sanctions directly on Putin, as well as Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Meanwhile, Congress is trying to solve the problem of huge, world-traveling yachts owned by numerous oligarchs. Last week, Rep. Don Young of the Republic of Alaska proposed the Oligarchs Accountable Through Arrests Act (BOATS). The bill would allow the US to take control of Russian ships in US waters.
“Our solidarity with Ukraine must be bolstered by urgent action against wealthy Russian oligarchs who continue to live luxurious lifestyles on megayachts,” Young said in a statement.
Europe
A yacht owned by Russian billionaire Alexei Mordashov, shown in Port Imperia, Italy, has been seized by the European Union. (Giuliano Berti/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The European Union has imposed its own sanctions on dozens of Putin’s allies, imposing travel bans and asset freezes. Over the weekend, Italy announced the seizure of assets worth more than $150 million from five Russians included in the sanctions list.
Authorities have confiscated several yachts and confiscated several villas, including one on Lake Como, a popular holiday destination for celebrities and the super-wealthy.
“We have to be able to stop Putin’s attack by bringing him to the negotiating table, and he won’t do any nice things,” Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Italian state television.
The seized assets included the $70 million 215-foot yacht Lady M, which is owned by Alexei Mordashov, one of Russia’s richest men. The second yacht “Lena” was also captured. It belonged to Gennady Timchenko, who is described in the EU as Putin’s “old acquaintance” and “one of his confidants.”
The villa on Lake Como was owned by Russian state television host Vladimir Solovyov, who complained on his program last month about the possibility of losing his property. Also confiscated was an $18.5 million estate on the island of Sardinia owned by Alisher Usmanov, whom the EU calls one of Putin’s “favorite oligarchs”.
On Thursday, the French government seized the yacht of Igor Sechin, head of state-owned Russian energy giant Rosneft, before it could leave port on the Mediterranean.
Rosneft Chairman of the Board of Directors Igor Sechin and Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Aleksey Nikolsky/TASS via Getty Images)
“At the time of the inspection, the ship was preparing for an urgent departure without completing the planned work,” the French Ministry of Economy and Finance said.
Sechin is a former deputy prime minister who has worked with Putin since they worked together in the St. Petersburg mayor’s office in the 1990s.
In listing Sechin on its list of Russians to be sanctioned, the EU called him “one of Vladimir Putin’s most trusted and closest advisers, as well as his personal friend,” adding that “he is in daily contact with the Russian president.” ” and “is considered one of the most influential representatives of the Russian political elite.”