Vladislav Osipov, a Russian-Swiss national, faces five new counts of bank fraud linked to operations of the sanctioned yacht Tango. These are in addition to multiple charges early last year, for the same yacht. The criminal charges are all connected to him operating as what the U.S. Department of Justice says was the personal yacht manager of Tango.
The new indictment, unsealed on February 22, supersedes an indictment against Osipov revealed in January 2023. Initially, the U.S. government had indicted him on a total of 12 charges. Among them, he allegedly engaged in money laundering and violated the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. With the superseding indictment, Osipov now faces 17 charges. Additionally, the government is seeking the forfeiture of Tango plus all funds related to services performed for the 255-footer (77.7-meter).
In the new charges, Osipov and an unnamed co-conspirator used U.S. companies and U.S. banks for Tango to conceal her owner’s identity. That owner is Viktor Vekselberg, who has been under U.S. sanctions since 2018. Further sanctions for Vekselberg plus the arrest of Tango (below) derive from the invasion of Ukraine.
The U.S. government indicates that Osipov held many roles on behalf of Vekselberg. As the personal yacht manager of Tango, he reportedly established multiple shell corporations to hide Vekselberg’s ownership. This therefore prevented U.S. financial institutions from knowing they were doing business with him. In turn, that prevented them from reporting Vekselberg’s identity to the U.S. Treasury. (Certain transactions with sanctioned individuals are permitted, under a license.)
Furthermore, Osipov and his employees allegedly directed Tango’s Spain-based yacht-management company to avoid using her real name in banking transactions starting in 2018. Consequently, the company referred to her as Fanta, both to conceal Tango’s identity and Vekselberg’s relationship. The same name appeared on the bank account records, too. Additionally, Osipov reportedly informed the captains and crew that they could do business with American companies despite the sanctions. Osipov claimed the onus was on the companies to decide what to do. Finally, the Justice Department says Osipov told the captains and crew that the management company could arrange yacht transactions in dollars. Vekselberg would then reimburse them tin euros through Osipov.
All of this permitted purchasing navigation and computer software, weather-forecasting software, satellite TV service, monogrammed bathrobes, and more from U.S. companies or of U.S. origin. The Justice Department says “hundreds of thousands of dollars of transactions for Tango” occurred in the name of Fanta.
“The United States will not allow its financial institutions and persons to be manipulated or defrauded for the purposes of benefitting those who support tyranny,” says U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves.
The U.S. State Department is offering a reward up to $1 million for information leading to Osipov’s arrest or conviction.
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