US law enforcement on Thursday raided two properties of Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, an ally of President Vladimir Putin under sanctions, NBC News reported.
Federal agents and local cops loaded with boxes were seen leaving an apartment on luxury Park Avenue in New York and a vacation home in the Hamptons, a popular destination near New York.
Both properties are owned by the Russian oligarch, according to NBC citing US Treasury documents.
Authorities are also searching a property on Miami’s Fisher Island believed to be linked to Vekselberg, the outlet added.
Mr. Vekselberg heads the Renova Group, a Moscow-based conglomerate, and he is one of the Russian oligarchs targeted by sanctions after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
His assets in the United States have been frozen and American companies have been banned from doing business with him and his businesses.
He is also being investigated by the US Department of Justice for bank fraud, but no charges have been filed, according to NBC.
Spain had already seized in April, at the request of the United States, a superyacht worth 90 million euros, belonging to Viktor Vekselberg.
The United States announced in March the creation of a cell dedicated to the prosecution of “corrupt Russian oligarchs” and all those who violate the sanctions adopted by Washington against Moscow.
Since then, the Americans have “sanctioned and blocked ships and planes worth more than a billion, as well as freezing hundreds of millions of dollars of assets of Russian elites in American accounts”, according to the House. White.
President Joe Biden hopes to be able to liquidate these assets and use the money to compensate for the damage Ukraine has suffered.
In early August, Washington announced new economic sanctions against Russian companies and oligarchs close to President Vladimir Putin, including Andrey Guryev, who owns the largest private property in London behind Buckingham Palace.