Spanish law enforcement seized a megayacht owned by a sanctioned Russian oligarch on Monday after the U.S. Department of Justice issued a warrant.
Court documents filed in the case reveal oligarch Viktor Vekselberg bought the 255 ft. yacht, the Tango, in 2011 and was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department on April 6, 2018. The warrant from the Justice Department alleges he and those working on his behalf continued to make payments through banks in the United States after he was sanctioned for the support and maintenance of the yacht.
“Today marks our taskforce’s first seizure of an asset belonging to a sanctioned individual with close ties to the Russian regime,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “It will not be the last. Together, with our international partners, we will do everything possible to hold accountable any individual whose criminal acts enable the Russian government to continue its unjust war.”
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The Justice Department’s seizure warrant alleges Tango was subject to forfeiture based on violation of U.S. bank fraud, money laundering, and sanction statutes. Separately, seizure warrants obtained in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia target approximately $625,000 associated with sanctioned parties held at nine U.S. financial institutions.
The seizure was coordinated through the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions and restrictions the U.S. and other countries have imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. After receiving the request from the U.S., the Spanish central authority for mutual legal assistance forwarded the request to a Spanish prosecutor, who obtained a freezing order executed by Spain’s Guardia Civil.
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The Justice Department will seek to have the yacht, currently in the Spanish island Mallorca, forfeited as the proceeds of a crime, Garland stated. It is believed to be worth approximately $90 million or more.
