FBI Seizes $120 Million Yacht Of Billionaire Putin Ally Viktor Vekselberg

In a joint effort between the U.S. and Spanish governments, a 254-foot yacht in Spain was successfully seized on Monday. It is reportedly owned by a Russian billionaire and close ally to Vladimir Putin, conglomerate head Viktor Vekselberg. This was the first asset seized that was frozen by the Biden administration among other sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

The yacht, named Tango, was being held at a marina in Palma de Mallorca and was swarmed yesterday by the Spanish Civil Guard and U.S. agents. The yacht is worth about $120 million according to SuperYachtFan.

The Justice Department has claimed in an affidavit that the oligarch along with co-conspirators may have committed fraud with the yacht by “structuring transactions about the TANGO in such a manner as to obfuscate Vekselberg’s ownership interest therein and in order to cause U.S. financial institutions to process U.S. dollar transactions.”

Vekselberg is the head of Renova Group, which owns corporations in fields including mining, tech, and metals, and reportedly oversees economic projects in the Kremlin. The billionaire was born in Ukraine, but had his schooling in Moscow and remained there to found his business. He lives in Switzerland now reportedly, and along with the frozen assets he was hit with a travel ban.

U.S. Attorney Merrick Garland, along with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, was key in formulating the country’s task force in charge of enforcing U.S. sanctions. Garland said that this first successful asset seizure, “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.”

Along with Spain, the U.S. is collaborating with countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and more to track down Russian oligarch’s assets, or “ill-begotten gains,” as President Joe Biden said in his State of the Union address. There have also been successful seizures of superyachts in France and Italy after Russia’s invasion.