Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images; Insider
- The Department of Justice has moved to seize six luxury properties owned by a sanctioned oligarch.
- Viktor Vekselberg's homes in New York, the Hamptons, and Florida, are worth $75 million.
- Vekselberg bought the homes via shell companies in Panama and The Bahamas, prosecutors alleged.
The Department of Justice said it has moved to seize six properties in New York, the Hamptons, and Florida worth $75 million owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg.
On Friday, on the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the DOJ's KleptoCapture taskforce announced its intention to seize the luxury properties owned by Vekselberg, including one on Park Avenue in New York City, alleging they were the subject of sanctions evasion and money laundering.
Court documents show Vekselberg purchased the properties using two shell companies based in Panama, and The Bahamas. Vekselberg, who was first sanctioned by the US in 2018 over the annexation of Crimea, wasn't allowed to conduct business with American citizens without a special license.
The documents say he was aided by his associate and fugitive Vladimir Voronchenko, who funneled at least $4 million into the US to maintain the properties. Prosecutors say Vekselberg attempted to sell two properties without informing the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Voronchenko instructed an attorney on how to use funds that Vekserlberg transferred into a trust account that prosecutors said amounted to about $18.5 million between 2009 and 2019.
Head of KleptoCapture, Andrew Adams, said in a press release: "Strawmen, corrupt professionals, and shell companies may be the hallmarks of money laundering and sanctions evasion, but they are obstacles that diligent, dedicated investigators and prosecutors will surmount."
He added that the filing was another step the DOJ and partners "have taken toward dislodging ill-gotten gains from those who would attempt to evade US sanctions, and toward making the value of these properties available for aid to Ukraine."
The properties that will be seized are located at 19 Duck Pond Lane, Southampton, New York; units 21 and 22, 515 Park Avenue, New York; and three units on Fisher Island Drive, Miami Beach, Florida.
Vekselberg, worth more than $7 billion according to Bloomberg, had his superyacht and private jet seized in March 2022 as part of the US and its allies' efforts to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin in ending his war with Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the US introduced fresh sanctions on Friday, targeting more than 100 entities both within Russia and worldwide, including banks and defense suppliers.
The DOJ didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider made outside normal working hours.