Move FM Global News

NEW YORK CITY, New York: On the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the federal prosecutors office in New York said that it will seize six properties in New York and Florida allegedly belonging to sanctioned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg.

They have also charged a Russian national with illegally exporting counterintelligence equipment.

In an attempt to pressure business executives connected to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Department of Justice has aimed to seize assets and file criminal charges.

In a statement, US Attorney General Merrick Garland said, “For as long as it takes, the Department of Justice will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our Ukrainian and international partners in defense of justice and the rule of law.”

Manhattan federal prosecutors said they had filed civil forfeiture complaints against Vekselberg’s New York and Florida properties, collectively worth $75 million.

Vekselberg, a billionaire, was sanctioned in 2018 over alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US election, as well as in 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine, due to his connections to Putin.

The US Attorney’s office in Brooklyn also said it had charged Moscow resident Ilya Balakaev with providing US equipment to Russia’s FSB intelligence agency and a North Korean government official.

After buying the devices over the internet or directly from US manufactures, Balakaev had them shipped to an address in Richmond, Virginia, and then transported to Russia, authorities said.