United States seizes Russian oligarch yacht Victor Wexelberg in Spain

Spain's Civil Guard and U.S. federal agents boarded the boat aboard Marina Real, at the port of Palma de Majorca, which serves as the headquarters of Spain's Balerica Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Journalists of the Associated Press news agency saw police coming in and out of the yacht on Monday morning.

The joint operation on the yacht seizure, with the Spanish Civil Guard participating, The US Department of Security's FBI and investigators developed at the request of the American authorities, Spain's Civil Guard said.

A Civil Guard source told the Associated Press news agency that the banned yacht is called Tango, is 78m long, carries the Cook Islands flag, and is estimated at around $120m, according to Superachtfan.com, a website specialising for the world's most luxurious boats. The person who talked to journalists sought to preserve his anonymity because he was not authorized to be quoted in press articles.

Jaht is one of the assets associated with Victor Vekselberg, a billionaire and Russian President Vladimir Putin's close ally. He runs the Renova Group in Moscow, a conglomerate of metallurgy, mining, technology and other activities, according to US Treasury Department documents. All of Mr. Wexelberg's assets in the United States are already frozen and American companies are forbidden to do business with him or his entities.

Although no sanctions have been imposed on Mr. Veskselberg from the European Union, he is under investigation in the United States for possible tax evasion, money laundering and forged documents aimed at hiding yacht ownership Tango, Spain's Civil Guard said in a statement.

This is the first time the US government has confiscated an oligarch yacht since Attorney General Merrick Garland and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen created the working group. REPO, for Russian elites, third parties and oligarchs, under the implementation of sanctions imposed after Russia attacked Ukraine in late February.

Wexelberg has early ties to the United States. He has had a timeline and a green card, a permanent residence document in the United States, as well as homes in New York and Connecticut. Ukraine-born businessman created his fortune through investments in aluminum and fuel industries during the era following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Wesselberg was also questioned during the investigation by special prosecutor Robert Mueller for Russian intervention in the American presidential election of 2016 and worked closely with his American cousin Andrew Intrater, who runs the Columbus Nova investment firm in New York.

Gentlemen Veskselberg and Intrater were placed in the spotlight during prosecutor Mueller's investigation after attorney of pornographic film actress Stormy Daniels published a document claiming that to ensure her silence, $500,000 had been transferred through the firm Columbus Nova to a shell company created by former President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. The firm Columbus Nova denied that Wexelberg had any role in the payments for Cohen.

Wekselberg and Intrater met with Mr. Cohen in the Trump Tower, one while several meetings held between members of the inner circle of former President Trump and representatives of Russian elites during the 2016 campaign and the transition of power transition.

The 64-year-old tycoon founded the Renova Group over three decades ago. Among many other investments, this group has a majority stake in United Co. Rusal, the largest Russian aluminum manufacturing company.

The United States first imposed sanctions on Mr. Wexelberg in 2018, and again in March of this year, shortly after the attack on Ukraine began. Stocks have also been put on by British authorities.

Jahti sails with the flag of the Cook Islands and is owned by a company registered in the British Virgin Islands and managed by different societies in Panama, Spain's Civil Guard said, “based on a complicated financial and social network to hide its real ownership”.

The agents confiscated documents and computers inside the yacht, which will be analysed to confirm his owner's true identity.

The US Department of Justice has also created a task force for law enforcement, known as the ClaptoCapture, which also aims to implement in the United States the financial restrictions imposed on Russia and its billionaires, in co-operation with the FBI, the Treasury Department and other federal agencies. This working group will also target financial institutions and entities that have helped the oligarchs shift funds with the aim of avoiding sanctions.

The White House has said that many allied countries -- among them Germany, Britain, France, Italy and others -- are contributing to the collection and distribution of information for Russians on whom sanctions have been imposed. In his Country Status speech, President Joe Biden warned oligarchs that the United States and the Allied countries will find and seize your yachts, luxury apartments and your private jet”.

“We are coming for (to remove your unjust benefits”, he said.

Monday's seizure does not represent the first time Spanish authorities engage in the ban on a giant Russian oligarchs yacht. Spanish officials say they have confiscated a shipping vehicle worth over $140m, owned by executive director of a state conglomerate in the field of defence, which is a close ally of Russian President Putin.

French authorities have also confiscated super-yachte, among which one is thought to belong to Igor Schini, an ally of Mr. Putin who leads Russian fuel giant Rosneft, and who has been on the US sanctions list since Russia annexed Crime in 2014.

Italy has also confiscated several yachts and other assets.

Italian financial police acted swiftly by confiscated the yacht “Lena”, owned by Gennady Timchenkos, an oligarch close to Mr. Putin, at San Remo port; yacht “Lady M” owned by Alexei Mordov in the vicinity of Imperia, comprised of six suites and a value of $65 million; and villas in Toscan and Komo, according to reports by Italian officials. /voa