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Washington announced today (Thursday) that in coordination with allies and partner countries, it has imposed new sanctions targeting the Russian elite, which continues to support President Putin, despite his brutal attack on Ukraine.
The Treasury Department said these individuals have been enriched at the expense of the Russian people and that members of their families have been placed in senior positions in Russia.
Others run large Russian companies and are responsible for securing the resources needed to support Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine.
According to the Treasury Department these individuals and their family members will be disconnected from the US financial system, their assets in the United States will be frozen, and their properties will be frozen. The Treasury Department will share financial intelligence and other evidence with the Department of Justice to support the prosecution process and property seizure.
Among the names sanctioned are Alisher Burhanovich Usmanov, one of Russia’s richest individuals and a close ally of Mr Putin. His property will be blocked in the United States, including his superyacht, one of the largest in the world, as well as his private jet, one of the largest privately owned in Russia. The United States will also sanction Dmitry Peskov, who as Putin’s spokesman is seen by US authorities as the main supplier of his propaganda.
Washington announced that it has imposed restrictions on entry to the United States for 19 oligarchs and 47 family members and their close associates.
Sanctioned persons and companies
• Nikolai Tokarev (his wife Galina, daughter Mayya and his two large real estate companies).
• Boris Rotenberg (his wife Karina and his sons Roman and Boris)
• Arkady Rotenberg (his sons Pavel and Igor and daughter Liliya)
• Sergei Chemezov (his wife Yekaterina, his son Stanislav and his daughter Anastasiya).
• Igor Shuvalov (his five companies, his wife Olga, his son Evgeny and his company, as well as his daughter Maria and a company of hers).
• Yevgeniy Prigozhin (his three companies, wife Polina, daughter Lyubov and his son Pavel).
• Dmitry Peskov, President Putin’s Press Secretary.
• Alisher Usmanov (his superyacht, one of the largest in the world as well as his private jet).
Operation ‘KleptoCapture’
The United States on Wednesday announced a comprehensive effort to identify and seize the assets of wealthy Russians who have supported President Vladimir Putin’s regime as part of Washington’s response to Moscow’s attack on Ukraine.
The new initiative, led by the Department of Justice, is called Operation ‘KleptoCapture’. It was first announced by President Joe Biden on Tuesday in his State of the Union address.
“Tonight I say to the Russian oligarchs and corrupt leaders who threw billions of dollars into this violent regime: No more!“, Said Mr. Biden.
“The US Department of Justice is assembling a working group dedicated to prosecuting the crimes of Russian oligarchs. We are joining our European allies to find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets. We are pursuing your illicit benefits“, He said.
On Wednesday morning, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced the formation of the new working group, noting that its purpose would be to implement the economic sanctions that have been imposed against Russia since its attack on Ukraine last week. passed.
“The Department of Justice will use all its powers to seize the property of individuals and entities violating these sanctions.Said Mr. Garland. “We will not leave a stone unturned in our efforts to investigate, arrest and prosecute those whose criminal acts enable the Russian government to continue this unjust war. Let me be clear: if you break our laws, we will hold you accountable“.
Experts say the work of tracking and seizing assets will rely on a combination of intelligence gathering, data analysis and co-operation with international partners, which is common in criminal investigations.
“We have seen confiscation of property and assets in the past. We have seen yachts, apartments and other things that have been seizedSaid Daniel P. Ahn, an associate of the Woodrow Wilson International Center who has worked as chief economist for the State Department. “This is a change in the degree of engagement, rather than a change in the instruments used“.
Mr Ahn said identifying the real owners of some assets would be a “sharp detection problem”. The assets owned by extremely wealthy individuals are often controlled by a complex network of shell companies, or registered in tax havens as well as other disguised entities, which law enforcement officials refer to as “beneficial owners”.
Ever since European Union countries, the United Kingdom, the United States and other allies began imposing sanctions on Russian banks and wealthy Putin’s supporters, large yachts owned or believed to be owned by Russian oligarchs have been seen to leave the ports of countries that have joined the sanctions.
Some have sailed to countries that do not have extradition agreements with the United States.
On Wednesday, oligarch Roman Abramovich, who owns the highly successful London-based football club Chelsea, announced that he had put the club up for sale, repaying about $ 2 billion in loans. On Tuesday, a member of the British Parliament said in a speech that Mr Abramovich was also trying to sell a range of luxury properties in London.
Experts say they believe the oligarchs may try to give up those properties that could be more easily linked to them, in the hope that their seizure would satisfy Western governments.
“If I am a kleptocrat and do not want them to take most of my things, I would remove what everyone is aware of, in the hope that they will leave me alone.Says Jim Richards, founder of ‘RegTech Consulting’ for VOA.
Mr. Richards, who has worked as director of financial crime risk management for Wells Fargo & Company for 12 years, says Mr. Abramovich and other oligarchs will have been careful to have large amounts of hidden assets. , which will be difficult or impossible to detect by law enforcement agencies.
“What I mean is that the last thing these people want is for girlfriends, children or themselves to end up in an apartment in Moscow“, He says.
Purpose of sanctions
As Western countries continue to increase the number of sanctions against the Russian economy, their ultimate goal may be called into question.
Mr Ahn says there are three goals when it comes to sanctions. The first is causing economic damage to the target. The second is to hinder or change specific behaviors. The third is to express disapproval of the specific actions of the sanctioned party or solidarity with those who are victims of these actions.
Mr Ahn says that as long as the sanctions imposed on Russia are intended to cause economic damage, they have been partially successful so far. Time is likely to indicate a deterioration in the Russian economy. But when it comes to preventing or stopping Russian aggression against Ukraine, sanctions have clearly failed, at least so far.
The symbolic success of the sanctions regime is usually greater, the more multifaceted they are, says Mr Ahn. At this point, the actions taken against Russia have been quite successful, doing considerable damage to the reputation of Mr. Putin’s government.
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