Russian Viktor Vekselberg has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and his case marks the first seizure by a newly formed US task force dedicated to fighting sanctions violators in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine. The US Department of Justice said the $90 million superyacht, named Tango, was seized over alleged violations of US bank fraud, money laundering and sanctions laws. According to court documents, the confiscation took place on the Spanish Mediterranean island of Mallorca. The US judge authorizing the seizure, Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui, issued a scathing eight-page order citing Putin’s “murder of civilians” and the destruction of Ukrainian cities.
“The confiscation of the Target property is just the beginning of the reckoning that awaits those who would facilitate Putin’s atrocities. Neither the Justice Department nor history will be kind to the oligarchs who chose the wrong side,” Faruqui wrote.
Faruqui concluded his order by citing a March CNN article detailing the damage on Snake Island, where Ukrainian defenders have been known to respond to the threat of a Russian invasion by saying, “Russian warship, fuck off.”
“The Justice Department seizure reflects the message of the brave Ukrainian soldiers of Snake Island,” Faruqui wrote.
Special Unit of the DOJ
US Attorney General Merrick Garland said Monday’s seizure “won’t be the last.”
“Together with our international partners, we will do everything we can to hold accountable any person whose criminal actions enable the Russian government to continue its unjust war,” he said in a statement.
Another $625,000, spread across nine different banks, was frozen as part of investigations into sanctions violations by Russian nationals, according to the department.
The DOJ announced last month that it would deploy a task force to help enforce sanctions against Russian government officials and oligarchs targeting their yachts, jets, real estate and other assets.
The unit, called KleptoCapture, includes prosecutors and federal agents, as well as experts in money laundering, tax enforcement, and national security investigations from the FBI, IRS, US Marshals Service, and US Postal Inspection Service.
Though a handful of Russian oligarchs — the billionaires who made much of their fortune under the watchful eye of Putin — have called for peace since the war began in Ukraine, many have remained silent as nations cut off their access to markets and trade.
This story has been updated with additional details.