The U.S. Department of Justice said banks, cryptocurrency exchanges and other financial institutions serving Russian oligarchs sanctioned by the U.S. government will be in its “crosshairs” as it details the agenda of a special task force created to enforce sanctions in response. to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
A senior justice official said Friday that the “KleptoCapture” task force, launched last week, will take a broad view, looking not just at parties known to help sanctioned people.
“Financial institutions, banks, money transfer services, cryptocurrency exchanges that deliberately fail to maintain proper anti-money laundering policies and procedures and allow these oligarchs to move money […] will be in the crosshairs of this investigation,” the official said.
The task force will also target accountants and lawyers who have helped sanctioned individuals.
“We will absolutely be investigating, targeting and, where appropriate, prosecuting individuals who are not properly the oligarch. […] but who are happy to help conceal, facilitate or incite sanctions evasion […] or assist sanctioned individuals to commit any crimes that we discover in the investigation,” the government official said.
The Justice Department is casting a wide net in its investigation as it seeks to step up enforcement of US sanctions with the task force, which includes an array of judicial bodies such as the FBI and the US Secret Service.
“Actors who stick their heads in the sand or blind themselves to move dirty money could face money laundering charges for their role in hiding those proceeds,” the court official said, adding that individuals and entities that “actively” help a sanctioned person moving assets will also be targeted.
Since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, the US has imposed sanctions on major banks, important people and Russia’s central bank, a list that could still grow. Washington has also targeted critical Russian officials such as Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and President Vladimir Putin.
The US has also sanctioned some oligarchs, including billionaire financier Alisher Usmanov, as well as some family members of the Russian elite.
On Friday afternoon, the U.S. Treasury Department announced new sanctions on three immediate family members of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, as well as members of the board of directors of VTB, the Russian bank sanctioned last month, and 12 Russian lawmakers. .
The US Treasury also identified as “blocked property” a private jet and a yacht owned by Viktor Vekselberg, a previously sanctioned wealthy Russian businessman.
The court official declined to specify or quantify the assets targeted by the KleptoCapture task force, but said they would include holdings that offer “attractive, often liquid or opaque ways” to hide or move capital quickly across borders, such as real estate, corporate holdings. , planes, jewelry and artwork.
Cryptocurrency exchanges are under pressure to block transactions with Russia as Western officials fear digital tokens are being used to transfer money to other countries as they try to isolate Russia from the global financial system.
Trading between the Russian ruble and cryptocurrency assets, including tether and bitcoin, has increased since the start of the Ukraine invasion, doubling in early March, according to data from cryptocurrency research group Chainalysis.
Translated by Luiz Roberto M. Gonçalves
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