WASHINGTON — American and Spanish law enforcement officials took control of the megayacht Tango, anchored in the luxurious Spanish island of Palma de Mallorca, on Monday after the U.S. Department of Justice received a warrant for the seizure of the $90 million vessel.
The warrant and subsequent crackdown targeted Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, who was sanctioned by the US government in 2018 and last month after Russia’s deadly invasion of Ukraine. The fines prevented the billionaire from participating in the US economy and prevented him from using American banks for business transactions.
According to the Justice Department’s 2011 warrant, Vekselberg and other unnamed conspirators tried to avoid detection in the US by paying for the yacht through shell companies and other money-laundering techniques.
“Vekselberg and those acting on his behalf and on his behalf arranged for U.S. dollar transactions for the Tango to be sent through U.S. financial institutions after a period determined by the Treasury Department for Vekselberg,” the am Arrest warrant unseal Monday.
Civil Guardsmen stand by the yacht named Tango in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, on Monday April 4, 2022. US federal agents and the Spanish Civil Guard search the yacht, which belongs to a Russian oligarch. Francisco Ubilla/AP
The Tango, designed and built exclusively for the oligarch, who has an estimated net worth of $6 billion, had been sent to Spain for repairs. Investigators say the Spanish government then informed the Justice Ministry of his whereabouts on March 13.
Prosecutors in Spain obtained a “freeze order” for the ship, paving the way for the FBI and other American law enforcement agencies to seize the ship.
Monday’s operation was part of the Justice Department’s new task force KleptoCapture, a multi-agency law enforcement group aimed at holding sanctioned Russian elites accountable as Russia continues its aggressive invasion of Ukraine.
“Today marks the first seizure of assets by our task force from a sanctioned individual with close ties to the Russian regime. It won’t be the last,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said Monday. “Together with our international partners, we will do everything we can to hold accountable any person whose criminal acts enable the Russian government to continue its unjust war.”
FILE – In this file photo taken on Tuesday, May 31, 2016, Russian businessman Viktor Vekselberg attends the Russian International Affairs Council in Moscow, Russia. Pavel Golovkin / AP
The Associated Press noted that 64-year-old Vekselberg, who was born in Ukraine, has long-standing ties to the US, including a green card he once held and apartments in New York and Connecticut. He is the majority owner of the Renova Group, a Moscow-based global conglomerate he founded 30 years ago with significant assets in the oil and mining sectors. Among other investments, he holds a stake in Rusal, Russia’s largest aluminum producer.
Vekselberg and his cousin Andrew Intrater were investigated by Special Counsel Robert Mueller after adult film star Stormy Daniels’ attorney released a memo alleging that $500,000 in hush money was being channeled through Columbus Nova, an investment company that operated by Intrater and reportedly linked to Renova, a shell company founded by former President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, according to the Associated Press. Columbus Nova denied that Vekselberg, Intrater’s largest investor, played any role in its payments to Cohen. Vekselberg and Intrater met with Cohen at Trump Tower, one of several meetings between members of Trump’s inner circle and senior Russians during the 2016 campaign and transition.
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