Spanish law-enforcement agents carried out a maritime arrest today at the behest of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Agents from both countries made the arrest of Tango at a marina in Palma de Mallorca. It’s the first time the United States has arrested property belonging to a Russian national since the invasion of Ukraine.
The arrest took place at the Real Club Nautico de Palma. The 255-foot (77.7-meter) megayacht has been in Palma since January. Video from Spain’s Guardia Civil, a law-enforcement agency, and the DOJ show officers and FBI agents boarding and searching the yacht (below).
The DOJ indicates that the owner is Viktor Vekselberg, who is on the U.S sanctions list stemming from the invasion of Ukraine. Vekselberg heads Renova Group, which operates in the energy sector. On March 11, the U.S Treasury Department blocked both Tango and Vekselberg’s private jet, alleging Kremlin insider status. Specifically, officials claim he has carried out diplomatic activity and soft power activities on behalf of the Russian government. Blocking the yacht effectively meant Tango could not depart the port.
Notably, however, the arrest of Tango also relates to alleged activity that landed Vekselberg on a Treasury Department sanctions list in 2018. In announcing today’s arrest, the DOJ says he obfuscated his ownership of Tango while making U.S. dollar payments through American banks for the megayacht’s support and maintenance, as well as his own use of her. For example, the DOJ says, Tango moored at a resort in the Maldives in December 2020, where Vekselberg further stayed. The DOJ indicates that dollars involving U.S. banks paid for both. Since he didn’t obtain the required license from the Treasury Department, it adds, the arrest of Tango resulted. Furthermore, the DOJ says, Tango is subject to forfeiture stemming from bank fraud and money laundering.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a video statement following the arrest. “Today marks our task force’s first seizure of an asset belonging to a sanctioned individual with close ties to the Russian regime. It will not be the last.”
Spain’s Guardia Civil issued a statement about the arrest, too. It says its officers further removed documents and computer devices after searching the yacht. The agency plans to analyze them to corroborate Vekselberg’s ownership, among other things.
The arrest of Tango originated with a request from the United States, pursuant to a bilateral treaty for mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. Spanish authorities forwarded the request to a Spanish prosecutor. That prosecutor in turn obtained a freezing order from a Spanish court, which the law-enforcement agents served today.
Tango saw delivery in 2011 from Feadship.
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