Russia attacks Ukraine: US, Spain seize Russian billionaire’s yacht

MALLORCA, Spain — U.S. and Spanish authorities on Monday seized a 255-foot luxury yacht on the Spanish island of Mallorca that is believed to belong to Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg.

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According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Tango is valued at roughly $90 million, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The Tango’s seizure marks the United States’ first such confiscation conducted under the direction of sanctions intended to punish the financial elite close to Russian President Vladimir Putin by seizing assets such as ships, luxury real estate and private aircraft, The Washington Post reported.

According to a warrant application field by a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent, Vekselberg bought the Tango in 2011, using shell companies, the Journal reported.

The vessel was seized early Monday while it was docked at the Marina Real in the port of Palma de Mallorca in Spain’s Balearic Islands, in the Mediterranean Sea.

Specifically, Spanish authorities executed a court order placing a freeze on the yacht after the U.S. Justice Department obtained the seizure warrant in federal court in Washington. The warrant alleged U.S. bank fraud, money laundering and sanctions violations against Vekselberg, the Post reported.

According to the Journal, Vekselberg’s name does not appear on the European Union’s list of sanctioned Russians, despite his close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Since Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, authorities in Spain, Italy, France and other European countries have been sequestering yachts, real estate and other assets owned by sanctioned Russians with connections to Putin, the newspaper reported.

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