The yacht of a Russian oligarch, close to Vladimir Putin and targeted by American sanctions, was seized on Monday in the Balearic archipelago at the request of the United States, the Spanish Civil Guard announced on Monday April 4.
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The operation was carried out in Palma de Mallorca by the Civil Guard and US federal agents from the FBI and HSI (Homeland Security Investigations) as part of a rogatory commission from the United States, she said in a statement. communicated.
Called "
Tango
", this 78-meter-long boat, estimated at more than 90 million euros, "
is the property of Russian multimillionaire Viktor Vekselberg
", according to the Civil Guard.
Spanish and American agents seized documents and computer devices in order to "
confirm the identity of its real owner
" while this yacht "
is flying the flag of the Cook Islands and is registered in the name of a company based in the British Virgin Islands which is itself managed by companies from Panama
".
“
If Viktor Vekselberg, very close to Vladimir Putin, is not targeted by the sanctions of the European Union, he is sanctioned by the United States Treasury Department, where an investigation has been opened against him for tax evasion , money laundering and use of forgery, precisely in connection with the concealment of the real ownership of this luxury yacht to avoid sanctions
”, continues the Civil Guard.
Read alsoSanctions against Russian oligarchs: Spain seizes a second yacht
Viktor Vekselberg is on a list of seven Russian oligarchs close to the Kremlin sanctioned in April 2018 by Washington, which accuses them in particular of having participated in
Russia's "
attacks " against "
Western democracies
".
Following these sanctions, the oligarch, domiciled in the canton of Zug in Switzerland, had reduced his stake in several Swiss industrial companies so that they could escape US sanctions.
It is the fourth yacht seized in Spain since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
The other three were suspected of belonging to oligarchs targeted by EU sanctions.