US Clamping Down on Sanctions – Risks Attached On All Sides
The message from the US Department of Justice has been clear in recent months –“Putin’s cronies will find no succor in their riches and those that illegally enable such lifestyles will be called to justice” and those who assist Russian oligarchs in their efforts to hide assets and violate sanctions will be held “accountable.”
As such, GlobalSource has extensive experience doing comprehensive due diligence, background checks, asset searches, and timely investigative work touching specifically on the issues of the US and international sanctions which have been changing regularly.
In this specific and recent case, the US government charged two businessmen, one Russian and one British, on January 20, 2023, with allegedly facilitating a sanctions evasion and money laundering scheme in relation to a USD 90 million yacht of billionaire Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg.
The two businessmen — Vladislav Osipov, 51, a Russian national, and Richard Masters, 52, a United Kingdom national, were charged in separate indictments at a US District Court with conspiracy to defraud and commit offenses against the United States, according to the US DoJ.
Both defendants allegedly used a variety of techniques to mask the ownership and operation of Tango, a USD 90 million, 255-foot luxury yacht owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, according to the indictment.
Despite US sanctions issued against Vekselberg in April 2018, Osipov and Masters allegedly facilitated the operation of Tango through the use of US companies and the US financial system, attempting to obscure Vekselberg’s involvement in the vessel. Their efforts allegedly permitted Tango to continue to operate as a luxury yacht with the full array of services and luxury goods available to it, supported by hundreds of thousands of dollars of illegally obtained US services and US financial transactions, for the benefit of Vekselberg. according to the source.
