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A russian oligarch's $90 million yacht is seized as part of u.s. sanctions.

A Civil Guard stands by the yacht called Tango in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, on Monday. U.S. federal agents and Spain's Civil Guard are searching the yacht owned by a Russian oligarch. Francisco Ubilla/AP hide caption

A Civil Guard stands by the yacht called Tango in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, on Monday. U.S. federal agents and Spain's Civil Guard are searching the yacht owned by a Russian oligarch.

Spanish officials have seized a Russian-owned luxury yacht in Mallorca at the request of the U.S. Department of Justice. It was the first coordinated seizure under the department's Task Force KleptoCapture, which is tasked with enforcing the sweeping sanctions placed on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.

The $90 million 255-foot yacht, named Tango, is owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, who heads the Renova Group, a Russian conglomerate with interests in metallurgy, machinery, energy, telecommunications as well as others.

"Today marks our taskforce's first seizure of an asset belonging to a sanctioned individual with close ties to the Russian regime. It will not be the last," said Attorney General Merrick Garland in a statement. "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."

The seizure was performed by Spanish Guardia Civil officers with assistance from the FBI.

U.S. officials allege that the Tango has been owned continuously by Vekselberg since 2011 and that he used shell companies to " obfuscate his interest in the Tango ," the Justice Department said in a press release.

The release cites alleges bank fraud and money laundering as justification for the seizure, highlighting U.S. bank payments for support and maintenance of the vessel — including a December 2020 stay at a luxury water villa resort in the Maldives.

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US seizes yacht owned by oligarch with close ties to Putin

A Civil Guard stands by the yacht called Tango in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Monday April 4, 2022. U.S. federal agents and Spain’s Civil Guard are searching the yacht owned by a Russian oligarch. The yacht is among the assets linked to Viktor Vekselberg, a billionaire and close ally with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, who heads the Moscow-based Renova Group, a conglomerate encompassing metals, mining, tech and other assets, according to U.S. Treasury Department documents. All of Vekselberg’s assets in the U.S. are frozen and U.S. companies are forbidden from doing business with him and his entities. (AP Photo/Francisco Ubilla)

Civil Guards accompany U.S. FBI agents and a U.S.Homeland Security agent from the yacht called Tango in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Monday April 4, 2022. U.S. federal agents and Spain’s Civil Guard are searching the yacht owned by a Russian oligarch. The yacht is among the assets linked to Viktor Vekselberg, a billionaire and close ally with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, who heads the Moscow-based Renova Group, a conglomerate encompassing metals, mining, tech and other assets, according to U.S. Treasury Department documents. (AP Photo/Francisco Ubilla)

A U.S. federal agent leaves the yacht called Tango in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Monday April 4, 2022. U.S. federal agents and Spain’s Civil Guard are searching the yacht owned by a Russian oligarch. The yacht is among the assets linked to Viktor Vekselberg, a billionaire and close ally with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, who heads the Moscow-based Renova Group, a conglomerate encompassing metals, mining, tech and other assets, according to U.S. Treasury Department documents. (AP Photo/Francisco Ubilla)

A Civil Guard officer accompanies a U.S.Homeland Security agent and an FBI agent from the yacht called Tango in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Monday April 4, 2022. U.S. federal agents and Spain’s Civil Guard are searching the yacht owned by a Russian oligarch. The yacht is among the assets linked to Viktor Vekselberg, a billionaire and close ally with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, who heads the Moscow-based Renova Group, a conglomerate encompassing metals, mining, tech and other assets, according to U.S. Treasury Department documents. (AP Photo/Francisco Ubilla)

A U.S. federal agent and two Civil Guards board the yacht called Tango in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Monday April 4, 2022. U.S. federal agents and Spain’s Civil Guard are searching the yacht owned by a Russian oligarch. The yacht is among the assets linked to Viktor Vekselberg, a billionaire and close ally with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, who heads the Moscow-based Renova Group, a conglomerate encompassing metals, mining, tech and other assets, according to U.S. Treasury Department documents. All of Vekselberg’s assets in the U.S. are frozen and U.S. companies are forbidden from doing business with him and his entities. (AP Photo/Francisco Ubilla)

Civil Guards stand by the yacht called Tango in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Monday April 4, 2022. U.S. federal agents and Spain’s Civil Guard are searching the yacht owned by a Russian oligarch. The yacht is among the assets linked to Viktor Vekselberg, a billionaire and close ally with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, who heads the Moscow-based Renova Group, a conglomerate encompassing metals, mining, tech and other assets, according to U.S. Treasury Department documents. All of Vekselberg’s assets in the U.S. are frozen and U.S. companies are forbidden from doing business with him and his entities. (AP Photo/Francisco Ubilla)

A U.S. federal agent walks past two Civil Guards on the yacht called Tango in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Monday April 4, 2022. U.S. federal agents and Spain’s Civil Guard are searching the yacht owned by a Russian oligarch. The yacht is among the assets linked to Viktor Vekselberg, a billionaire and close ally with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, who heads the Moscow-based Renova Group, a conglomerate encompassing metals, mining, tech and other assets, according to U.S. Treasury Department documents. All of Vekselberg’s assets in the U.S. are frozen and U.S. companies are forbidden from doing business with him and his entities. (AP Photo/Francisco Ubilla)

Civil Guards officers accompany identified people from the yacht called Tango in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Monday April 4, 2022. U.S. federal agents and Spain’s Civil Guard are searching the yacht owned by a Russian oligarch. The yacht is among the assets linked to Viktor Vekselberg, a billionaire and close ally with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, who heads the Moscow-based Renova Group, a conglomerate encompassing metals, mining, tech and other assets, according to U.S. Treasury Department documents. (AP Photo/Francisco Ubilla)

A Civil Guard and a police dog walk off the yacht called Tango in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Monday April 4, 2022. U.S. federal agents and Spain’s Civil Guard are searching the yacht owned by a Russian oligarch. The yacht is among the assets linked to Viktor Vekselberg, a billionaire and close ally with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, who heads the Moscow-based Renova Group, a conglomerate encompassing metals, mining, tech and other assets, according to U.S. Treasury Department documents. All of Vekselberg’s assets in the U.S. are frozen and U.S. companies are forbidden from doing business with him and his entities. (AP Photo/Francisco Ubilla)

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PALMA DE MALLORCA, Spain (AP) — The U.S. government on Monday seized a 254-foot yacht in Spain owned by an oligarch with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, a first by the Biden administration under sanctions imposed after the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine and targeting pricey assets of Russian elites .

Spain’s Civil Guard and U.S. federal agents descended on the Tango at the Marina Real in the port of Palma de Mallorca, the capital of Spain’s Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Associated Press reporters at the scene saw police going in and out of the boat.

The U.S. Justice Department, which obtained a warrant from a federal judge in Washington, alleges the yacht should be forfeited for violating U.S. bank fraud, money laundering and sanctions statutes.

Superyachtfan.com, a specialized website that tracks the world’s largest and most exclusive recreational boats, values the 78-meter vessel, which carries the Cook Islands flag, at $120 million.

The yacht is among the assets linked to Viktor Vekselberg , a billionaire and close Putin ally who heads the Moscow-based Renova Group, a conglomerate encompassing metals, mining, tech and other assets, according to U.S. Treasury Department documents.

All of Vekselberg’s assets in the United States are frozen and American companies are barred from doing business with him and his entities. The Ukrainian-born businessman built his fortune by investing in the aluminum and oil industries in the post-Soviet era.

Prosecutors allege Vekselberg bought the Tango in 2011 and has owned it since then, though they believe he has used shell companies to try to obfuscate his ownership and to avoid financial oversight.

They contend Vekselberg and those working for him continued to make payments using U.S. banks to support and maintain the yacht, even after sanctions were imposed on him in 2018. Those payments included a stay in December 2020 at a luxury water villa resort in the Maldives and fees to moor the yacht.

It’s the first U.S. seizure of an oligarch’s yacht since U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen assembled a task force known as REPO — short for Russian Elites, Proxies and Oligarchs — as an effort to enforce sanctions after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.

“It will not be the last.” Garland said in a statement. “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.”

Vekselberg has long had ties to the U.S., including a green card he once held and homes in New York and Connecticut. He was also questioned in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and has worked closely with his American cousin, Andrew Intrater, who heads the New York investment management firm Columbus Nova.

Vekselberg and Intrater were thrust into the spotlight in that investigation after the lawyer for adult film star Stormy Daniels released a memo that claimed $500,000 in hush money was routed through Columbus Nova to a shell company set up by Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen. Columbus Nova denied that Vekselberg played any role in its payments to Cohen.

Vekselberg and Intrater met with Cohen at Trump Tower, one of several meetings between members of Trump’s inner circle and high-level Russians during Trump’s 2016 campaign and the transition before his presidency.

The 64-year-old Vekselberg founded Renova Group more than three decades ago. The group holds the largest stake in United Co. Rusal, Russia’s biggest aluminum producer, among other investments.

Vekselberg was first sanctioned by the U.S. in 2018, and again in March of this year, shortly after the invasion of Ukraine began. Vekselberg has also been sanctioned by authorities in the United Kingdom.

The yacht sails under the Cook Islands flag and is owned by a company registered in the British Virgin Islands administered by different societies in Panama, the Civil Guard said, “following a complicated financial and societal web to conceal its truthful ownership.”

Agents confiscated documents and computers inside the yacht that will be analyzed to confirm he real identity of the owner, it said.

The U.S. Justice Department has also launched a sanctions enforcement task force known as KleptoCapture, which also aims to enforce financial restrictions in the U.S. imposed on Russia and its billionaires, working with the FBI, the U.S. Treasury and other federal agencies. That task force will also target financial institutions and entities that have helped oligarchs move money to dodge sanctions.

The White House has said that many allied countries, including German, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and others are involved in trying to collect and share information against Russians targeted for sanctions. In his State of the Union address on March 1, President Joe Biden warned oligarchs that the U.S. and European allies would “find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets.”

“We are coming for your ill-begotten gains,” he said.

Monday’s capture is not the first time Spanish authorities have been involved in the seizure of a Russian oligarch’s superyacht. Officials said they had seized a vessel valued at over $140 million owned by the CEO of a state-owned defense conglomerate and a close Putin ally.

French authorities have seized superyachts, including one believed to belong to Igor Sechin, a Putin ally who runs Russian oil giant Rosneft, which has been on the U.S. sanctions list since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

Italy has seized several yachts and other assets.

Italian financial police moved quickly seizing the superyacht Lena belonging to Gennady Timchenko, an oligarch close to Putin, in the port of San Remo; the 65-meter (215-foot) Lady M owned by Alexei Mordashov in nearby Imperia, featuring six suites and estimated to be worth 65 million euros; as well as villas in Tuscany and Como, according to government officials.

Parra reported from Madrid and Balsamo reported from Washington.

US Seizes Super Yacht ‘Tango' Owned by Oligarch With Close Ties to Putin From Spanish Port

The doj alleges in a warrant the yacht should be forfeited because billionaire viktor vekselberg violated u.s. bank fraud, money laundering and sanctions statutes, by francisco ubilla, aritz parra and michael balsamo • published april 4, 2022.

The U.S. government on Monday seized a 254-foot yacht in Spain owned by an oligarch with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, a first by the Biden administration under sanctions imposed after the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine and targeting pricey assets of Russian elites.

Spain's Civil Guard and U.S. federal agents descended on the Tango at the Marina Real in the port of Palma de Mallorca, the capital of Spain’s Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Associated Press reporters at the scene saw police going in and out of the boat.

The U.S. Justice Department, which obtained a warrant from a federal judge in Washington, alleges the yacht should be forfeited for violating U.S. bank fraud, money laundering and sanctions statutes.

Superyachtfan.com , a specialized website that tracks the world’s largest and most exclusive recreational boats, values the 78-meter vessel, which carries the Cook Islands flag, at $120 million.

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The yacht is among the assets linked to Viktor Vekselberg, a billionaire and close Putin ally who heads the Moscow-based Renova Group, a conglomerate encompassing metals, mining, tech and other assets, according to U.S. Treasury Department documents .

All of Vekselberg’s assets in the United States are frozen and American companies are barred from doing business with him and his entities. The Ukrainian-born businessman built his fortune by investing in the aluminum and oil industries in the post-Soviet era.

Prosecutors allege Vekselberg bought the Tango in 2011 and has owned it since then, though they believe he has used shell companies to try to obfuscate his ownership and to avoid financial oversight.

They contend Vekselberg and those working for him continued to make payments using U.S. banks to support and maintain the yacht, even after sanctions were imposed on him in 2018. Those payments included a stay in December 2020 at a luxury water villa resort in the Maldives and fees to moor the yacht.

It's the first U.S. seizure of an oligarch’s yacht since U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen assembled a task force known as REPO — short for Russian Elites, Proxies and Oligarchs — as an effort to enforce sanctions after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.

"It will not be the last,” Garland said in a statement. “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.”

Vekselberg has long had ties to the U.S., including a green card he once held and homes in New York and Connecticut. He was also questioned in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and has worked closely with his American cousin, Andrew Intrater, who heads the New York investment management firm Columbus Nova.

Vekselberg and Intrater were thrust into the spotlight in that investigation after the lawyer for adult film star Stormy Daniels released a memo that claimed $500,000 in hush money was routed through Columbus Nova to a shell company set up by Donald Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen. Columbus Nova denied that Vekselberg played any role in its payments to Cohen.

Vekselberg and Intrater met with Cohen at Trump Tower, one of several meetings between members of Trump's inner circle and high-level Russians during Trump's 2016 campaign and the transition before his presidency.

The 64-year-old Vekselberg founded Renova Group more than three decades ago. The group holds the largest stake in United Co. Rusal, Russia’s biggest aluminum producer, among other investments.

Vekselberg was first sanctioned by the U.S. in 2018, and again in March of this year, shortly after the invasion of Ukraine began. Vekselberg has also been sanctioned by authorities in the United Kingdom.

The yacht sails under the Cook Islands flag and is owned by a company registered in the British Virgin Islands administered by different societies in Panama, the Civil Guard said, “following a complicated financial and societal web to conceal its truthful ownership.”

Agents confiscated documents and computers inside the yacht that will be analyzed to confirm he real identity of the owner, it said.

The U.S. Justice Department has also launched a sanctions enforcement task force known as KleptoCapture, which also aims to enforce financial restrictions in the U.S. imposed on Russia and its billionaires, working with the FBI, the U.S. Treasury and other federal agencies. That task force will also target financial institutions and entities that have helped oligarchs move money to dodge sanctions.

The White House has said that many allied countries, including Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and others are involved in trying to collect and share information against Russians targeted for sanctions. In his State of the Union address on March 1, President Joe Biden warned oligarchs that the U.S. and European allies would “find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets.”

“We are coming for your ill-begotten gains,” he said.

Monday's capture is not the first time Spanish authorities have been involved in the seizure of a Russian oligarch’s superyacht. Officials said they had seized a vessel valued at over $140 million owned by the CEO of a state-owned defense conglomerate and a close Putin ally.

French authorities have seized superyachts, including one believed to belong to Igor Sechin, a Putin ally who runs Russian oil giant Rosneft, which has been on the U.S. sanctions list since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

Italy has seized several yachts and other assets.

Italian financial police moved quickly seizing the superyacht Lena belonging to Gennady Timchenko, an oligarch close to Putin, in the port of San Remo; the 65-meter (215-foot) Lady M owned by Alexei Mordashov in nearby Imperia, featuring six suites and estimated to be worth 65 million euros; as well as villas in Tuscany and Como, according to government officials.

Parra reported from Madrid and Balsamo reported from Washington.

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Superyacht owned by oligarch with close ties to Putin seized by U.S.

Linked to billionaire viktor vekselberg, tango is a 78-metre vessel valued at $120m us.

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The U.S. government seized a mega yacht in Spain owned by an oligarch with close ties to the Russian president on Monday, the first in the government's sanctions enforcement initiative to "seize and freeze" giant boats and other pricey assets of Russian elites.

Spain's Civil Guard and U.S. federal agents descended on the yacht at the Marina Real in the port of Palma de Mallorca, the capital of Spain's Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Associated Press reporters at the scene saw police going in and out of the boat on Monday morning.

A Civil Guard source told The Associated Press that the immobilized yacht was the Tango, a 78-metre vessel that carries a Cook Islands flag and that Superyachtfan.com, a specialized website that tracks the world's largest and most exclusive recreational boats, set its value at $120 million US.

The yacht is among the assets linked to Viktor Vekselberg, a billionaire and close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who heads the Moscow-based Renova Group, a conglomerate encompassing metals, mining, tech and other assets, according to U.S. Treasury Department documents. All of Vekselberg's assets in the U.S. are frozen and U.S. companies are forbidden from doing business with him and his entities.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland confirmed the seizure in a statement released by the Justice Department, which estimated the value of the vessel as "at least $90 million."

"Today marks our task force's first seizure of an asset belonging to a sanctioned individual with close ties to the Russian regime. It will not be the last," said Garland. "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."

Vekselberg familiar to U.S. officials

Garland and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen have assembled a task force known as REPO — short for Russian Elites, Proxies and Oligarchs — as an effort to enforce sanctions after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.

Vekselberg has long had ties to the U.S. including a green card he once held and homes in New York and Connecticut. The Ukrainian-born businessman built his fortune by investing in the aluminum and oil industries in the post-Soviet era.

Vekselberg was also questioned in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and has worked closely with his American cousin, Andrew Intrater, who heads the New York investment management firm Columbus Nova.

Vekselberg and Intrater were thrust into the spotlight in the Mueller probe after the lawyer for adult film star Stormy Daniels released a memo that claimed $500,000 US in hush money was routed through Columbus Nova to a shell company set up by Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. Columbus Nova denied that Vekselberg played any role in its payments to Cohen.

Vekselberg and Intrater met with Cohen at Trump Tower, one of several meetings between members of Trump's inner circle and high-level Russians during the 2016 campaign and transition.

The 64-year-old mogul founded Renova Group more than three decades ago. The group holds the largest stake in United Co. Rusal, Russia's biggest aluminum producer, among other investments.

Vekselberg was first sanctioned by the U.S. in 2018, and again in March of this year, shortly after the invasion of Ukraine began. Vekselberg has also been sanctioned by authorities in the United Kingdom.

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The U.S. Justice Department has also launched a sanctions enforcement task force known as KleptoCapture, which also aims to enforce financial restrictions in the U.S. imposed on Russia and its billionaires, working with the FBI, Treasury and other federal agencies. That task force will also target financial institutions and entities that have helped oligarchs move money to dodge sanctions.

"Today's seizure of Viktor Vekselberg's yacht, the Tango, in Spain is the result of an unprecedented multinational effort to enforce U.S. sanctions targeting those elites who have enabled Russia's unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine," said Andrew Adams, director of that task force. "For those who have tied their fortunes to a brutal and lawless regime, today's action is a message that those nations dedicated to the rule of law are equally dedicated to separating the oligarchs from their tainted luxuries."

The White House has said that many allied countries, including Germany, the U.K., France, Italy and others are involved in trying to collect and share information against Russians targeted for sanctions. In his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden warned oligarchs that, "we are coming for your ill-begotten gains."

Other yachts seized

Monday's capture is not the first time Spanish authorities have been involved in the seizure of a Russian oligarch's superyacht. Officials there said they had seized a vessel valued at over $140 million US owned by the CEO of a state-owned defence conglomerate and a close Putin ally.

French authorities have also seized superyachts, including one believed to belong to Igor Sechin, a Putin ally who runs Russian oil giant Rosneft, which has been on the U.S. sanctions list since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

$90 Million Yacht of Sanctioned Russian Oligarch Viktor Vekselberg Seized by Spain at Request of United States <a href="https://t.co/plLXnHXdoU">https://t.co/plLXnHXdoU</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DOJPH?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DOJPH</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/FBIMinneapolis?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FBIMinneapolis</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/HSINewYork?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HSINewYork</a> &mdash; @USAO_DC

Italy has also seized several yachts and other assets.

Italian financial police moved quickly seizing the superyacht Lena belonging to Gennady Timchenko, an oligarch close to Putin, in the port of San Remo; the 65-metre Lady M owned by Alexei Mordashov in nearby Imperia, featuring six suites and estimated to be worth 65 million euros; as well as villas in Tuscany and Como, according to government officials.

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U.S. seizes mega yacht owned by oligarch who's close to Putin

By Robert Legare

Updated on: April 5, 2022 / 9:24 AM EDT / CBS News

Washington  — American and Spanish law enforcement agents took control of the mega yacht Tango anchored in the luxurious Spanish island of Palma de Mallorca on Monday after the U.S. Justice Department obtained a warrant for the $90-million vessel's seizure.

The warrant and subsequent raid targeted Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, who was sanctioned by the U.S. government in 2018 and again last month following Russia's deadly invasion of Ukraine. The financial penalties blocked the billionaire from participating in the U.S. economy and prevented him from utilizing American banks to conduct business transactions. 

According to the Justice Department's warrant , dating as far back as 2011, Vekselberg and other unnamed conspirators attempted to avoid detection in the U.S. by paying for the yacht through shell companies and other money laundering techniques. 

"Vekselberg and those acting on his behalf and for his benefit caused U.S. dollar transactions for the Tango to be sent through U.S. financial institutions, after a time which Vekselberg was designated by the Treasury Department," the warrant unsealed Monday alleges.

The Tango, designed and built exclusively for the oligarch, who has an estimated net worth of $6 billion, had been sent to Spain for repair. Investigators say the Spanish government then alerted the Justice Department to its whereabouts on March 13. 

Prosecutors in Spain obtained a "freezing" order on the vessel, paving the way for FBI and other American law enforcement agents to seize the ship. 

Monday's operation was part of the Justice Department's new Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement group aimed at holding sanctioned Russian elites accountable, as Russia continues its aggressive invasion of Ukraine. 

"Today marks our task force's first seizure of an asset belonging to a sanctioned individual with close ties to the Russian regime. It will not be the last," Attorney General Merrick Garland said Monday. "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."

The Associated Press noted 64-year-old Vekselberg, who was born in Ukraine, has long had ties to the U.S., including a green card he once held and homes in New York and Connecticut. He's the main owner of the Renova Group, a global conglomerate he founded 30 years ago which is based in Moscow with major assets in mining, technology and utilities. He has stakes in several technology companies and in Rusal, Russia's biggest aluminum producer.

Vekselberg and his cousin, Andrew Intrater, were investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller after the attorney for adult film star Stormy Daniels released a memo that claimed $500,000 in hush money was routed through Columbus Nova, an investment company run by Intrater and reportedly affiliated with Renova , to a shell company set up by former President Donald Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, according to the Associated Press. Columbus Nova denied that Vekselberg, who was Intrater's biggest investor, played any role in its payments to Cohen. Vekselberg and Intrater met with Cohen at Trump Tower, one of several meetings between members of Trump's inner circle and high-level Russians during the 2016 campaign and transition. Mueller did not mention Vekselberg or Intrater in his final report.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that neither Vekselberg nor Intrater were mentioned in special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, as well as to note some of Vekselberg's other holdings.  

Robert Legare is a CBS News multiplatform reporter and producer covering the Justice Department, federal courts and investigations. He was previously an associate producer for the "CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell."

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A Russian oligarch's $90 million seized superyacht could be auctioned off by the US if running costs climb, a report says

• A Russian oligarch's seized yacht may be sold at auction if the US deems it too expensive to maintain, The Daily Beast said.
• It reported an ex-federal prosecutor saying the oligarch can't stop the government from selling the yacht at fair market value.
• Running costs for superyachts can be up to 20% of their overall value, an expert told Insider. 

The US government could sell a Russian oligarch's seized superyacht at auction if running costs become too expensive, The Daily Beast reported.

Tango, a 255-foot long luxury vessel worth $90 million, was seized in early April by the US in Spain. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a press release the owner was Viktor Vekselberg, a sanctioned oligarch in charge of Russian conglomerate Renova Group.

Many Russian-owned yachts that were seized after the country's invasion of Ukraine are now in limbo as Western authorities decide what the next steps are. Without proper care, the vessels could deteriorate within weeks and become an environmental hazard, experts previously told Insider .

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"If the maintenance and storage become prohibitively expensive, the government can go to the court and say, 'we want to sell this and reduce it to cash,'" Stefan Cassella, former federal prosecutor and expert on asset seizures and money laundering law, told The Daily Beast.

The government is responsible for the running and storage costs of any yacht it detains, until it gets sold on, Cassella told The Daily Beast, adding that seizure cases can last between five and 10 years.

Cassella told The Daily Beast that Vekselberg couldn't stop the government from selling Tango at auction for "fair market value and turning it into a liquid asset."

The annual maintenance costs of yachts can add up to around 15% to 20% of its overall value, Benjamin Maltby, a partner at Keystone Law who specializes in superyachts, previously told Insider . That means Vekselberg's superyacht could cost up to $18 million per year to keep running.

Tango can accommodate 14 guests and 22 crew, according to Super Yacht Fan.  

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TANGO yacht interior

The interior was designed by Harrison Eidsgaard, a London-based studio that’s passionate about creating unique designs tailored to the owner’s lifestyle. They also worked on notable yacht and aircraft projects. 

Accommodation for the guests is offered on the main deck. There’s a hall that leads to a private study and the owner’s stateroom with his/hers bath and dressing room. This custom-built superyacht also boasts a massage/beauty salon and custom furniture pieces. 

While the exact looks of the interior remain private, we know that its design elements are unparalleled.

Harrison Eidsgaard is known for their passion for detail while drawing inspiration from their varying backgrounds.   

Harrison Eidsgaard designed the exterior of the TANGO yacht. The steel hull, a teak deck, and an aluminum framework form a muscular yet elegant profile.

The top deck has grey/silver elements, creating a gentle contrast with the silver base. TANGO also features the signature Feadship signature lines, a symbol of style and performance.   

The contra-flow pool and a sundeck with an outdoor cinema are on the aft. There is comfortable seating, an impressive bar, a sky lounge, and al-fresco dining.    

Specifications

the TANGO yacht has a stunning length of 77.7m (254’11”) with a 12.2m (40’0″) beam. Her draft measures 3.65m (11’12”) and weighs 2083 tons.

With four diesel-type MTU engines, she can cruise up to a top speed of 21.0 knots.

She also carries 202 000 liters of fuel and 41,000 liters of water. As the 20th largest yacht built by Feadship, she can accommodate up to 14 guests and 22 crew members.   

Price 

As of today, the Feadship motor yacht Tango is not for sale. However, it has an estimated price of $120 million.    

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The US government seized the $90 million yacht of a Russian oligarch with close ties to Vladimir Putin in Spain Monday, part of the Biden administration’s efforts to target the assets of Russia’s wealthy over the invasion of Ukraine, the Justice Department said . 

The 255-foot yacht Tango, owned by Viktor Vekselberg, was boarded by Spanish and US officials while docked at the Marina Real in the Mediterranean port of Palma de Mallorca under a warrant issued by a federal judge in Washington, according to a statement.

The warrant claimed that the Tango was subject to forfeiture over violations of bank fraud, money laundering and sanctions statutes. 

Vikselberg, who is estimated to be worth $5.7 billion, was among a group whose assets were seized by the US Treasury in early March for “enabling Putin’s unjustified and unprovoked war.”

Others targeted by the asset seizure included Putin himself and Kremlin mouthpiece Dmitry Peskov.

Federal prosecutors said Vekselberg, 64, bought the luxury yacht in 2011 but has used a number of shell companies to both hide his stake in the vessel and to avoid oversight into his financial transactions involving US banks.

“Today marks our task force’s first seizure of an asset belonging to a sanctioned individual with close ties to the Russian regime. It will not be the last,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.​

Vekselberg is the founder of the Renova Group, ​a company that has interests in energy, metals, tech and mining markets. He was also sanctioned along with a number of oligarchs in April 2018 for engaging in a “range of malign activity around the globe,” the Treasury Department said at the time.

Those activities involved the Russian occupation of Crimea in 2014, instigating violence in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, supplying the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad with weapons and meddling in the 2016 US presidential election. 

The seizure of the Tango was coordinated by the KleptoCapture task force that was created by the Justice Department in March to go after Russian officials linked to the Ukrainian invasion. 

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From yachts to lavish estates, tracking Russian assets seized so far

By Tal Yellin , CNN

Published April 13, 2022

Updated April 27, 2022

Countries are on the hunt for sanctioned Russian assets after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February. Thousands of Russians have since been sanctioned by the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom, among others. Superyachts and multimillion-dollar properties have already been seized or frozen by authorities in Italy, France, Spain, the UK and Gibraltar. The United States has also launched KleptoCapture, a task force focused on those who violate sanctions and the seizing of their assets.

This interactive will continue to track known developments and help show where sanctioned Russians park their money outside of Russia. Except for Igor Sechin and Sergei Chemezov, no other oligarchs or related persons mentioned in this story responded to requests for comment from CNN.

Real estate

Other assets

April 14, 2022

“dilbar”  linked to    alisher usmanov   valued at $600-$750 million in hamburg, germany.

Germany has impounded the “Dilbar,” a superyacht connected to a Russian oligarch in Hamburg, the country’s embassy in the US tweeted . The yacht belongs to the sister of Alisher Usmanov and is worth between $600 to $750 million, according to the German Federal Criminal Police Office. Usmanov is one of Russia’s wealthiest billionaires with vast domestic and international holdings. The US government sanctioned him in early March in a campaign targeting Putin’s allies, stating Usmanov is alleged to have “financial ties” to Putin. In March, Italy’s financial police seized his real estate and assets worth about $90 million. Usmanov has also been sanctioned by the European Union.

April 12, 2022

Assets  linked to    roman abramovich   valued at over $7 billion in jersey.

Authorities in the Channel island of Jersey froze more than $7 billion worth of assets “suspected to be connected to” Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, according to a government statement . The frozen assets are either located in Jersey or owned by Jersey incorporated entities, the statement said. The States of Jersey Police also executed search warrants on premises “connected to the business activities” of Abramovich. Abramovich made his fortune in steel and investments and was sanctioned by the UK in March, citing his decades-long relationship with Vladimir Putin. In a statement at the time , the UK government noted that “he is one of the few oligarchs from the 1990s to maintain prominence under Putin.” These frozen assets represent around half his net worth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index .

April 11, 2022

Properties  linked to    nikita mazepin   valued at $114.3 million in sardinia, italy.

A real estate compound, “Rocky Ram,” linked to Nikita Mazepin and his oligarch father Dmitry was seized in Sardinia, the Italian financial police confirmed in a statement. The police said the properties are worth 105 million euros (about $114.3 million). Nikita, a former Formula 1 Haas team driver, and his father were included on a list of individuals sanctioned by the EU in early March. The sanction list described Mazepin Sr. as “a member of the closest circle of Vladimir Putin” saying he and 36 other ”businesspeople” met with Putin and other government officials to discuss how sanctions would affect Russia. In early March, Mazepin Sr. sold his controlling stake in Uralchem Group, one of the largest producers of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers in Russia, and resigned as CEO from Uralchem JSC, a subsidiary, according to a company statement .

April 7, 2022

Assets  linked to    sanctioned russians   valued at $7.83 billion in switzerland.

Switzerland has so far frozen 7.5 billion Swiss francs (about $7.83 billion) of sanctioned Russian assets, according to a State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) spokesperson. The number of frozen assets increased from March 24, when 5.75 billion Swiss francs (about $6.18 billion) were initially frozen. Frozen assets include 11 properties throughout Switzerland. No identifiable information was revealed and no specific assets were mentioned in the initial statement. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Switzerland broke from traditional neutrality and adopted EU sanctions.

April 5, 2022

Assets  linked to    sanctioned russians   valued at $3 billion in belgium.

Belgian authorities have frozen $3 billion in Russian assets and blocked $215 billion in transactions since the start of economic sanctions, according to Belgian Minister of Finance Vincent Van Peteghem. The frozen assets belong to 877 individuals and 62 entities on the European sanctions list, according to the statement from the Belgian Finance Ministry. The blocked transactions are the result of other restrictions imposed by the European Union on Russia.

April 4, 2022

“tango”  linked to    viktor vekselberg   valued at $90 million in mallorca, spain.

Spanish authorities seized a superyacht named “Tango,” which they say is owned by Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg in Mallorca, according to a statement from the Spanish Civil Guard. The detained yacht was part of an operation with US federal agents and was carried out under a Spanish court order, the statement said. Vekselberg runs the Russian investment company Renova Group. He is worth approximately $16.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He was sanctioned by the United States and is “under investigation for tax fraud, money laundering and document forgery trying to hide the ownership of this superyacht to avoid sanctions” and is “very close to (Russian President) Vladimir Putin,” the Spanish Civil Guard said. Vekselberg’s case marks the first seizure for the newly formed US task force, KleptoCapture. The yacht is 78 meters long (about 256 feet) and is valued at nearly $90 million, per the US Department of Justice.

March 29, 2022

“phi”  linked to    a russian businessman   valued at $50 million in london, england.

The United Kingdom detained the “Phi” yacht belonging to an unnamed-Russian businessman with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian regime, according to the UK Department for Transport. The Dutch-built vessel is docked in East London’s Canary Wharf for the superyacht awards, and was planning to depart March 29. The Department of Transport claims that the ownership of the boat was “deliberately well hidden.” It sails under the Maltese flag and is registered to a company based in the Caribbean islands of St. Kitts and Nevis. The 192-foot yacht is worth approximately £38 million (about $50 million).

March 23, 2022

Assets  linked to    sanctioned russians   valued at $800 million in france.

French authorities have frozen assets linked to sanctioned Russian oligarchs valued at $800 million, according to French government spokesperson Gabriel Attal. The European Union’s latest round of sanctions in early March against Russia included measures targeting 160 oligarchs and Russian politicians. “There will be no taboo if we need to go further,” Attal said about any additional sanctions.

March 22, 2022

Assets  linked to    sanctioned russians   valued at $431 million in the netherlands.

The Netherlands has frozen nearly 392 million euros (about $431 million) in Russian assets, the Dutch Ministry of Finance told parliament in a letter seen by CNN. The ministry said that further asset freezes were expected. The European Union’s latest round of sanctions in early March against Russia included measures targeting 160 oligarchs and Russian politicians.

March 21, 2022

“axioma”  linked to    dmitry pumpyansky   valued at $75 million in gibraltar.

Authorities in Gibraltar have detained the “Axioma” yacht linked to Russian billionaire Dmitry Pumpyansky, according to UK and Gibraltar government statements. Pumpyansky was sanctioned by the EU and UK and was the beneficiary of TMK PAO, Russia’s largest oil and gas steel pipe maker. He also resigned from the TMK PAO’s board of directors, the company announced . The 240-foot yacht is worth approximately $75 million, according to SuperYachtFan . Gibraltar’s ports had been closed to sanctioned individuals, but the Captain of the Port made an exception after JPMorgan Chase was granted a court order authorizing the seizure. “JPMorgan is acting pursuant to its mortgage rights,” the Gibraltar government said in a statement to CNN. JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the United States, said in a statement in early March it was getting out of Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, citing “compliance with directives by governments around the world.”

March 18, 2022

Real estate  linked to    alexey mordaschov   valued at $116 million in sardinia, italy.

The Italian financial police seized a real estate complex belonging to Russian billionaire Alexey Mordaschov in Sardinia, according to Italy’s Prime Minister’s office. Mordaschov is the chairman of Russian mining and steel company Severstal and is one of Russia’s richest men, worth $18.5 billion, according to Forbes . The frozen real estate is worth around 105 million euros (about $116 million), per Ferdinando Giugliano, the media advisor to the Italian Prime Minister. On March 4, Mordaschov’s yacht, named “Lady M” was also seized in Italy. The 213-foot yacht is worth approximately 65 million euros (about $71 million).

March 16, 2022

“crescent”  linked to    an unknown owner   valued at $600 million in tarragona, spain.

Spanish authorities have detained a superyacht, named “Crescent” in the port of Tarragona, according to a statement from Spain’s Ministry for Transport. The 135-meter yacht flies a Cayman Islands flag and has been “provisionally detained” to establish whether it is the possession of a person or entity included in the European Council’s package of sanctions, the statement said. The yacht cost approximately $600 million, according to SuperYachtFan.

Real estate  linked to    Petr Aven   valued at $4.4 million in Sardinia, Italy

The Italian financial police froze a real estate complex belonging partially to Russian oligarch Petr Aven in Sardinia, according to a statement issued by Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s press office. The share of real estate is worth approximately 4 million euros (about $4.4 million), according to the Italian Prime Minister’s office. The billionaire stepped down earlier this month as Director of Russian private bank Alfa Bank and from the board of the investment firm he co-founded, LetterOne, after being sanctioned by the EU and UK . The European Union named Aven as “one of Vladimir Putin’s closest oligarchs,” who “regularly meet” with the Russian President in the Kremlin, and “does not operate independently of the President’s demands.”

Real estate and vehicles  linked to    Alisher Usmanov   valued at $72 million in Italy

Real estate assets and six corporate vehicles belonging to Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov were seized by the Italian financial police. The seized assets are worth approximately 66 million euros (about $72 million). Usmanov is one of Russia’s wealthiest billionaires with vast domestic and international holdings. The US government sanctioned him in early March in a campaign targeting Putin’s allies, stating he is alleged to have financial ties to Putin. Italy’s financial police had previously seized his real estate in the Golfo del Pevero area in Arzachena on March 4. Those assets are worth approximately 17 million euros (about $18 million).

March 15, 2022

“lady anastasia”  linked to    alexander mikheev   valued at $7 million in palma de mallorca, spain.

Spanish authorities have detained a yacht linked to Russian oligarch Alexander Mikheev, named “Lady Anastasia,” in the port of Palma de Mallorca, according to the Spanish Ministry of Transport. Mikheev is the CEO of Rosoboronexport, the only state organization in Russia that exports weapons and was sanctioned by the EU and the US. The yacht is nearly 48 meters (157 feet) long and was in the news in late February, when a crew member tried to sink the vessel in retaliation for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The yacht is worth approximately $7 million, according to a listing on BOAT International.

“Valerie”  linked to    Sergei Chemezov   valued at $140 million in Barcelona, Spain

Spanish authorities seized the “Valerie” yacht reportedly linked to Russian oligarch and former KGB agent Sergei Chemezov in the port of Barcelona, according to Reuters . Chemezov is the chairman of the Rostec conglomerate and a member of the Supreme Council of ‘United Russia’, per EU sanctions . When the US sanctioned Chemezov in 2014 — as part of an effort targeting Putin’s inner circle — the government said he had known Putin since the 1980s and the two lived in the same apartment complex in East Germany. The yacht is worth approximately $140 million and will remain “provisionally immobilized” until authorities can determine its ownership. A spokesman for Chemezov denied that he is tied to the yacht.

March 11, 2022

“sailing yacht a”  linked to    andrey melnichenko   valued at $577 million in trieste, italy.

The Italian financial police seized “Sailing Yacht A” — which could be linked to Russian fertilizer and coal billionaire Andrey Melnichenko — in the port of Trieste, according to Ferdinando Giugliano, the media advisor to the Italian Prime Minister. Melnichenko was sanctioned by the EU on March 9 and has since removed himself from the boards of two companies he founded, Eurochem and SUEK, according to his spokesman Alex Andreev in a statement to CNN. At 469 feet long, the vessel is also the world’s tallest sailing yacht — taller than the Statue of Liberty — and is worth approximately 530 million euros (about $577 million).

March 4, 2022

“villa lazzareschi”  linked to    oleg savchenko   valued at $3.3 million in lucca, italy.

A 17th century villa allegedly owned by Oleg Savchenko, named “Villa Lazzareschi,” was seized by Italian financial police in the province of Lucca, according to a police statement . Savchenko is a member of the State Duma and was sanctioned by the EU. The seized Italian villa is worth approximately 3 million euros (about $3.3 million).

Real estate  linked to    Vladimir Soloviev   valued at $8.7 million in Como, Italy

Real estate properties belonging to Vladimir Soloviev were seized by the Italian financial police in the province of Como, according to a police statement . Soloviev is a Russian pro-Kremlin propagandist and TV/radio journalist, according to EU Council sanctions . The frozen Italian real estate is worth approximately 8 million euros (about $8.7 million).

Real estate  linked to    Alisher Usmanov   valued at $18 million in Arzachena, Italy

A real estate compendium belonging to Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov was seized by the Italian financial police in the Golfo del Pevero area in Arzachena, according to a statement . The frozen Italian real estate is worth approximately 17 million euros (about $18 million).

Usmanov is one of Russia’s wealthiest billionaires with vast domestic and international holdings, according to the US Treasury. The US government sanctioned him in early March in a campaign targeting Putin’s allies, stating he is alleged to have financial ties to Putin. The US said it sanctioned his private jet and his 512-foot superyacht named “Dilbar.”

“Lena”  linked to    Gennady Timchenko   valued at $55 million in San Remo, Italy

The Italian financial police seized Russian billionaire Gennady Timchenko’s yacht, named “Lena,” in the port of San Remo, according to a police statement . Timchenko is the owner of private investment group, Volga Group. He was sanctioned by the EU in February. When the US government sanctioned Timchenko in 2014, an effort targeting Putin’s inner circle, they stated his “activities in the energy sector have been directly linked to Putin.” The 126-foot yacht is worth approximately 50 million euros (about $55 million).

“Lady M”  linked to    Alexey Mordaschov   valued at $71 million in Imperia, Italy

The Italian financial police seized Russian billionaire Alexey Mordaschov’s yacht, named “Lady M,” in the northern port of Imperia, according to a police statement . Mordaschov is the chairman of Russian mining and steel company Severstal and is one of Russia’s richest men, worth $18.5 billion, according to Forbes . The 213-foot yacht is worth approximately 65 million euros (about $71 million).

March 3, 2022

“amore vero”  linked to    igor sechin   valued at $120 million in la ciotat, france.

French authorities seized a yacht linked to Igor Sechin in the Mediterranean port of La Ciotat, according to the French Finance Ministry . Sechin is the CEO of Rosneft, the Russian state oil company and one of the world’s largest crude oil producers. The yacht, named “Amore Vero” — or “True Love” in Italian — was scheduled to leave the port on April 1 after arriving in January. Sechin was deputy prime minister of Russia from 2008 until 2012. The European Union said his connections to Putin are “long and deep,” with the two men maintaining daily contact. The yacht is worth about $120 million, according to SuperYachtFan. A Sechin spokesman denied that he is tied to the yacht.

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Luxury yachts and other myths: How Republican lawmakers echo Russian propaganda

Two senior Republican lawmakers, the chairs of the House Intelligence and Foreign Affairs committees, say their colleagues are echoing Russian state propaganda against Ukraine.

Researchers who study disinformation say Reps. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, and Michael McCaul, R-Texas, are merely acknowledging what has been clear for some time: Russian propaganda aimed at undermining U.S. and European support for Ukraine has steadily seeped into America’s political conversation over the past decade, taking on a life of its own.

McCaul, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Puck News he thinks “Russian propaganda has made its way into the United States, unfortunately, and it’s infected a good chunk of my party’s base.”

Turner, chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, told CNN that anti-Ukraine messages from Russia are “being uttered on the House floor.”

For the past decade, since Russia’s first military incursion into Ukraine in 2014, Moscow has spread propaganda and disinformation in a bid to undercut U.S. and European military support for Ukraine, according to U.S. and Western officials.

Some of the arguments, distortions and falsehoods spread by Russia have taken root, mostly among right-wing pro-Trump outlets and Republican politicians, researchers say, including that Ukraine’s government is too corrupt to benefit from Western aid and that the Biden family has alleged corrupt ties to Ukraine.

Russia, in keeping with traditional propaganda techniques, seeks to make its case and tarnish Ukraine through a mixture of outright falsehoods, half-truths, inferences or simply amplifying and promoting arguments already being made by American or European commentators and politicians, researchers say.

The propaganda is sometimes spread covertly, through fake online accounts, or openly by Russian officials and state media. As a result, the origin of some allegations or criticisms is often opaque, especially when a certain accusation or perception has gained wide acceptance, leaving no clear fingerprints.

Early in the war, a false story boosted by Russian propaganda — that the U.S. had helped Ukraine build biological weapons labs — gained traction on right-wing social media and was touted by then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

Russia also is conducting a parallel propaganda campaign in Europe. Belgium’s prime minister said Thursday that his government is investigating alleged Russian bribes to members of the European Parliament as part of Moscow’s campaign to undermine support for Ukraine. Czech law enforcement officials last month alleged that a former pro-Russian member of Ukraine’s parliament, Viktor Medvedchuk, was behind a Prague-based Russian propaganda network designed to promote opposition to aiding Ukraine.

Here are some examples of Republican lawmakers using arguments often promoted by Russian propaganda:

Buying yachts

When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with members of Congress behind closed doors in December to appeal for more U.S. help for his country’s troops, some lawmakers raised questions about Ukraine allegedly buying yachts with American aid money.

Zelenskyy made clear that was not the case, according to Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a strong supporter of arming Ukraine. “I think the notion of corruption came up because some have said we can’t do it, because people will buy yachts with the money,” Tillis told CNN. “[Zelenskyy] disabused people of those notions.”

Where did the yacht rumor come from?

Pro-Russian actors and websites promoted a narrative alleging Zelenskyy bought two superyachts with U.S. aid dollars. One Russia-based propaganda site, DC Weekly , published a story last November that included photos of two luxury yachts, called Lucky Me and My Legacy , which it alleged were bought for $75 million.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., a vocal opponent of military aid to Ukraine, in November retweeted a post about the alleged yacht purchase from the Strategic Culture Foundation, a Russian-based propaganda outlet directed by Russia’s intelligence services, according to the Treasury Department. The U.S. has imposed sanctions on the organization, accusing it of spreading disinformation and interfering in U.S. elections.

Another outspoken critic of aid to Ukraine, Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, also made a similar claim.

In a December interview with former President Donald Trump’s White House adviser Steve Bannon, Vance claimed that members of Congress wanted to cut Social Security benefits to provide more aid to Ukraine, and that money would allegedly be used for Zelenskyy’s ministers to “buy a bigger yacht.”

“There are people who would cut Social Security, throw our grandparents into poverty. Why? So that one of Zelenskyy’s ministers can buy a bigger yacht?” Vance said. “Kiss my ass, Steve. It’s not happening.”

The tale of Zelenskyy’s luxury yacht, however, turned out to be totally false . The yachts cited in the DC Weekly article remain up for sale , the owners told The Associated Press.

Two academics at Clemson University, disinformation researchers Darren Linvill and Patrick Warren, found that DC Weekly ran numerous stories copied from other sites that were rewritten by artificial intelligence engines. The articles had bylines with fake names along with headshots copied from other online sites. DC Weekly appeared to be a Russian effort to launder false information through a seemingly legitimate news site as part of an attempt to undermine U.S. support for Ukraine, according to the researchers .

Asked by reporters about Vance’s comments, Tillis said: “I think it’s bullshit. ...If you’re talking about giving money to Ukrainian ministers — total and unmitigated bullshit.”

Greene’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Vance’s spokesperson said the senator was making a rhetorical point about how he opposed sending U.S. assistance to what he sees as a corrupt country, but was not asserting the yacht stories online were accurate.

Vance’s office referred NBC News to an earlier response to the BBC on the same topic:

“For years, everyone in the West recognized that Ukraine was one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Somehow everyone forgot that just as we started sending them billions of dollars in foreign aid.”

Enabling ‘corruption’

Russian state media for years has painted Ukraine as deeply corrupt, and has argued that the U.S. and its allies are wasting money and military hardware by assisting such an allegedly corrupt government.

“This is absolutely a line that they have pushed, and then once it appears in the Western ecosystem, other [Russian] media picks it up and it gets recycled back,” said Bret Schafer, a senior fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy.

This line of argument has gained traction partly because Ukraine does face a genuine corruption problem.

Russia’s effort to focus attention on corruption in Ukraine reflects a long-established propaganda method of using facts or partial truths to anchor a broader assertion or accusation, sometimes making a leap in logic, Schafer and other researchers said. Russia’s message amounts to: Ukraine is corrupt, therefore U.S. and Western aid will be stolen and wasted.

Schafer said it was ironic for Russia, a country mired in corruption and kleptocracy, to be leveling accusations about corruption.

Republican Rep. Mary Miller has said she strongly opposes more assistance for Ukraine because it amounts to sending cash to “corrupt oligarchs.”

“With Zelensky coming to DC this week to ask for more money, I will continue to vote AGAINST sending your tax $$ to corrupt oligarchs in Ukraine for a proxy war that could have ended in ‘22,” Miller wrote in a post on X in December.

The Illinois lawmaker also echoed another assertion that often appears in Russian media, that the Biden administration allegedly undermined efforts by Russia to avoid war with Ukraine.

 “A peace deal was on the table that [Ukraine] and [Russia] were both ready to sign, but Biden said NO,” she wrote.

There was in fact no proposed peace agreement that Russia and Ukraine were prepared to sign before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, according to U.S. and European officials. As Russian troops massed on the border of Ukraine, Western governments urged Russia not to invade and warned there would be economic and diplomatic consequences.

Reuters has reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected a possible deal to avert a war that had been discussed with Kyiv by Russia’s envoy to Ukraine. The Kremlin said the report was inaccurate and has said Russia tried for years to arrive at an understanding with Ukraine.

As for corruption in Ukraine, Zelenskyy has vowed to tackle the problem, sacking senior officials in some recent cases. But some civil society groups have criticized his approach and Ukrainians say corruption is the country’s second-most serious problem, after the Russian invasion, according to a poll conducted last year.

In an annual survey, Transparency International said Ukraine made progress toward addressing the issue and now ranks 104th out of 180 countries on its Corruption Perceptions Index , climbing 12 places up from its previous ranking.

Ukraine is not alone among countries that receive U.S. and other foreign aid but struggle with corruption. Supporters of assisting Ukraine argue it would undermine America’s influence in the world and its humanitarian efforts if Washington withheld foreign aid from every country where there were reports of corruption.

Miller’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

The Biden family and Ukraine

Republicans have repeatedly alleged that President Joe Biden and his son Hunter have corrupt ties to Ukraine, and that they sought $5 million in bribes from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma to protect the firm from an investigation by Ukraine’s prosecutor general.

There is no credible evidence for the allegations. A key source for the accusations against the Bidens is a former FBI informant, Alexander Smirnov, who was arrested in February on federal charges of fabricating the bribery claims. Smirnov says he was fed information by Russian intelligence.

Republicans had heavily promoted Smirnov’s allegations against the Bidens, seeing them as crucial to a planned impeachment effort against the president that has since fizzled .

“In my estimation, that is probably the clearest example of Russian propaganda working its way into the American political system,” said Emerson Brooking, a resident senior fellow at the Digital Forensic Research Lab of the Atlantic Council.

GOP Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona cited the false bribery allegations in expressing his opposition to providing assistance to Ukraine.

“In exchange for … bribe money from Ukraine, Joe Biden has dished out over $100 billion in taxpayer money to fund the war in Ukraine. I will not assist this corruption by sending more money to the authoritarian Ukrainian regime,” Gosar said in a statement in October.

Gosar’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Dan De Luce is a reporter for the NBC News Investigative Unit. 

Syedah Asghar is a Capitol Hill researcher for NBC News and is based in Washington, D.C.

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$90 Million Yacht of Sanctioned Russian Oligarch Viktor Vekselberg Seized by Spain at Request of United States

            WASHINGTON – Spanish law enforcement today executed a Spanish court order freezing the Motor Yacht (M/Y) Tango (the Tango), a 255-foot luxury yacht owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg. Spanish authorities acted pursuant to a request from the U.S. Department of Justice for assistance following the issuance of a seizure warrant, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which alleged that the Tango was subject to forfeiture based on violation of U.S. bank fraud, money laundering, and sanction statutes.

            According to documents filed in this case, the U.S. investigation alleges that Vekselberg bought the Tango in 2011 and has owned it continuously since that time. It further alleges that Vekselberg used shell companies to obfuscate his interest in the Tango to avoid bank oversight into U.S. dollar transactions related thereto. Additionally, after Vekselberg was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department on April 6, 2018, the warrant alleges that Vekselberg and those working on his behalf continued to make U.S. dollar payments through U.S. banks for the support and maintenance of the Tango and its owners, including a payment for a December 2020 stay at a luxury water villa resort in the Maldives and mooring fees for the yacht. Vekselberg had an interest in these payments and therefore a license was required from the Treasury Department, which was not obtained.

            “Today marks our taskforce’s first seizure of an asset belonging to a sanctioned individual with close ties to the Russian regime. It will not be the last.” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “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.”

            “Today’s action makes clear that corrupt Russian oligarchs cannot evade sanctions to live a life of luxury as innocent Ukrainians are suffering,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “Today the Department of Justice delivers on our commitment to hold accountable those whose criminal activity strengthens the Russian government as it continues to wage its unjust war in Ukraine. That commitment is one we are not finished honoring.”

            “Today we announce another example of the FBI using our worldwide presence and partnerships, as well as our expertise and experience to track and seize illicit money and assets, to counter threats to our safety and national security,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “We will continue to use every lawful tool to go after designated Russian oligarchs' assets – however and wherever they hide them.”

            The seizure was coordinated through the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export restrictions, and economic countermeasures that the United States has imposed, along with its allies and partners, in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine. Announced by the Attorney General on March 2 and run out of the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the task force will leverage all the Department’s tools and authorities against efforts to evade or undermine the economic actions taken by the U.S. government in response to Russian military aggression.

            "The seizure of this luxury yacht demonstrates our determination to hold accountable those who support Vladimir Putin’s unwarranted invasion of another sovereign nation,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves of the District of Columbia.  “We will continue to use every tool to enforce the sanctions aimed at Putin’s regime and the oligarchs who support it.  Working with our federal and international partners, we will be unflagging in our efforts to bring to justice those who violate these sanctions, and to seize assets where appropriate and lawful.”

            “Today’s seizure of Viktor Vekselberg’s yacht, the Tango, in Spain is the result of an unprecedented multinational effort to enforce U.S. sanctions targeting those elites who have enabled Russia’s unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine,” said Director Andrew Adams of Task Force KleptoCapture. “For those who have tied their fortunes to a brutal and lawless regime, today’s action is a message that those nations dedicated to the rule of law are equally dedicated to separating the oligarchs from their tainted luxuries. This seizure is only the beginning of the Task Force’s work in this global effort to punish those who have and continue to support tyranny for financial gain.”

            “The FBI will continue to work with its partners to protect the integrity of the banking system and support the enforcement of sanctions programs,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael F. Paul of the FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office. “FBI agents and analysts, regardless of where they are assigned around the world, will work tirelessly to ensure those who attempt to evade sanctions are held accountable.”

            “The Russian invasion of Ukraine was an unprovoked act of aggression that has targeted the lives and well-being of millions of people and threatened international security,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York.  “For decades, the Putin regime has been supported by a group of Russian oligarchs that abused their power for private gain to amass untold riches. As DHS’s investigative arm, HSI stands at the forefront of combatting global networks that seek to violate U.S. law and exploit our nation’s financial systems.  Working with our partners at the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI, we will hold Putin’s oligarchs accountable and deny them the lavish lifestyles they cherish.”

            Upon receipt of a request from the United States pursuant to a bi-lateral treaty for mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, the Spanish central authority for mutual legal assistance forwarded the request to a Spanish prosecutor, who obtained a freezing order from a Spanish court. The order was executed by Spain’s Guardia Civil, Spanish National Police, today, April 4.

            The Tango, International Maritime Organization number 1010703, is believed to be worth approximately $90 million or more. The yacht is now in Palma de Mallorca.

            The burden to prove forfeitability in a forfeiture proceeding is upon the government.

            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. Those seizures are based on sanctions violations by several Russian specially designated nationals.

            The matter of the Tango is being investigated by the FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office with assistance from the HSI New York Field Office. In announcing that forfeiture action, U.S. Attorney Graves, Special Agent in Charge Paul, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Patel commended the work of those who investigated the case from FBI and HSI.

            Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen P. Seifert is handling the seizure and investigation, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Brian Rickers and Legal Assistant Jessica McCormick, all from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in working with the Spanish authorities, as well as the Criminal Division's Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS).

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