US seizes its first Russian oligarch mega-yacht worth $90m in Putin crackdown

A massive $90m yacht owned by a Russian oligarch with close ties to President Vladimir Putin was seized Monday in Spain as part of the government’s sanctions initiative to “seize and freeze” large assets linked to Russian elites, according to reports.

The mega yacht is among the assets linked to Viktor Vekselberg, a billionaire who heads up a Moscow-based conglomerate that controls metals, mining and tech assets, according to documents from the US Treasury Department.

At the Marina Real in the port of Palma de Mallorca, a large group of Spanish Civil Guards and US federal agents boarded the boat, according to Associated Press reporters who were at the scene and saw the authorities early Monday morning.

Mr Vekselberg's US assets remain frozen and American companies have been forbidden from doing business with him and his entities.

The seizure was confirmed by two people familiar with the matter. The people could not discuss the matter publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity. A Spanish Civil Guard spokesman confirmed that officers from the Spanish police body and from the FBI were at the marina searching the vessel Monday morning and said further details would be released later.

The move is the first time the US government has seized an oligarch’s yacht since Attorney General Merrick Garland and 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.

Earlier this month, the US Treasury also identified a $90m private jet owned by the Russian businessman and marked is as a “blocked property”.

The yacht, called Tango, has an estimated combined value with the private aircraft of $180m, according to SwissInfo.

The US Treasury Department issued a statement earlier this month accusing the Russian businessman of acting on behalf of the Russian president and of supporting the country’s technology sector through his holding company, Renova, it read.

“Vekselberg has maintained close ties with leading GoR officials, including Putin and former Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev (Medvedev). Medvedev personally appointed Vekselberg to serve as director and president of the Skolkovo Foundation (SF), a GoR initiative aimed at creating a Russian version of Silicon Valley in order to elevate Russia’s international status as a leading innovation center for technological developments,” it reads.

“Furthermore, Vekselberg has taken part in Russian diplomatic and soft power activities on behalf of the Kremlin.”

Mr Vekselberg has long had ties to the US including a green card he once held and homes in New York and Connecticut. The Ukrainian-born businessman originally built his fortune by investing in the aluminum and oil industries in the post-Soviet era, and his Renova Group - founded more than three decades ago - holds the largest stake in United Co. Rusal, Russia’s biggest aluminum producer.

In 2018, the 64-year-old was among oligarchs sanctioned by the US for reasons including Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014, with assets totalling between $1.5 billion and $2 billion being frozen, according to Reuters.

With files from the Associated Press