What property can Russian oligarchs lose in New York due to US sanctions

New York, Manhattan, the southern part of Central Park is one of the favorite places of Russian oligarchs. Madison and Fifth Avenue are not far from here, and the Plaza Hotel is not far away. It also has residential apartments, some of which belong to Russian oligarchs. Immediately after the start of the war in Ukraine, they began to sell their expensive apartments. And what about those who did not have time to get rid of real estate? Can US authorities confiscate such property? Tried to answer this question project of journalist Denis Cheredov “On duty in New York”.

Russians urgently sell luxury real estate in America

There is less and less time to get rid of houses. Sanctions are announced almost every day. Relations between Moscow and Washington deteriorated completely. Fox News reports that in just one week, more than 60 Russian-owned properties were put up for sale in the Central Park South area. Realtor Ilya Bogot tells how many penthouses and townhouses still belong to Russians.

“In terms of real estate, these are the most luxurious houses, the most expensive and prestigious apartments. They were mostly sold and bought about 10-12 years ago. There are very few left in New York today. They rewrite them for relatives and wives. But we haven't seen their wives' property taken away. Until that happened.”

Oligarchs face sanctions

Their movable and immovable property is automatically frozen. The war in Ukraine will not end quickly, and the White House announces personal sanctions in batches. On April 6, the top of the Kremlin was on the American list: Medvedev, Mishustin, Chaika, Siluanov, Trutnev. Even Putin's children, the wife and daughter of Foreign Minister Lavrov are now under sanctions.

Daniel Fried, former sanctions policy coordinator at the US State Department: “Pressure on all aspects, all elements of the Putin system can lead to results that we cannot currently foresee. It may be that the Russian people, who seem to support the war now, may feel the opposite. When his standard of living deteriorates due to Putin's aggression. When it becomes clear that Putin will treat his people as he did in the days of Stalin and Hitler, perhaps the oligarchs, who feel it necessary to rally around Putin, will begin to think differently.”

US authorities are hunting for the property of Russian oligarchs around the world

This week it became known that Viktor Vekselberg's yacht was confiscated in Spain at the request of the United States. Its cost is estimated at 90 million dollars. A special law enforcement operation took place in Palma de Mallorca.

Video footage of the arrest of Vekselberg's yacht with the beautiful name "Tango" spread around the world. This is how the FBI agents and the Spanish police deprived the chairman of the board of directors of the Renovo group of companies from part of the property.

We did not find the name Vekselberg in the state register of real estate in New York. Forbes estimates his fortune at $9 billion.

One of the main characters of the sanctions list is millionaire Oleg Deripaska

He was blacklisted in 2018. Then Deripaska was accused of interfering in the 2016 US presidential election. At the end of March, a Washington court rejected the appeal of the ex-head of RusAl. Deripaska demanded that all these restrictions be lifted. At the end of October last year, FBI agents visited Oleg Deripaska's house in New York. From the apartments on Gay Street, law enforcement officers took out several boxes of documents. What was in them is unclear.

According to the New York Post, due to sanctions, Oleg Deripaska cannot dispose of another apartment on East 64th Street in Manhattan. The entrepreneur's apartment is located at number 11.

Igor Slabykh lawyer: “We don't know how long the property will be frozen. Because sanctions can last one year, and five years, and ten. But all this time this property will be frozen. Nobody can do anything with him. We freeze the assets of the oligarchs, not seize them. We are not in a hurry. The idea of ​​an asset freeze should be easy. This is done to show that they can be part of the Putin system, or do business with the world in a normal way.”

Oligarchs try to avoid sanctions

Who rewrites real estate, someone hides yachts, planes and other property. The well-known billionaire Abramovich was included in the American list of sanctions. It was he who joined the team of Putin's confidants in the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that he personally put in a good word for Abramovich when the US authorities were already ready to impose sanctions against the billionaire.

Billionaire Roman Abramovich has long fallen in love with New York. In 2013, he looked after himself three townhouses 9,11 and 13. The transaction amount then amounted to $ 96 million. And in 2018, the Russian oligarch decided to sell these houses to his ex-wife Daria Zhukova. The Clark company is engaged in the unification of houses, at least for the 3rd year construction work has not stopped on 74th Street.

Abramovich, of course, could control this process by helping his wife. But now the Russian government has a different role for him. Roman Abramovich, as you know, has already put the Chelsea football club up for sale and overtook two yachts from the Caribbean to Turkey.

On the subject: What Russian oligarchs and their families own in New York

“From a practical point of view, the imposition of sanctions on a particular country is controlled by the US Treasury. But an interdepartmental group under the National Security Council is also responsible for them. At the moment, there is no sanctions coordinator because the US Senate did not approve the candidacy of Gio Bryan, who was nominated as my successor,” said Daniel Fried, former US State Department sanctions policy coordinator.

In February, a special department appeared in the US Department of Justice, hunting for the assets of Russian oligarchs and officials.

There are no results yet. “Law enforcement agencies are checking those who could acquire property in America illegally. But digging up such facts and evidence is not easy. In the United States, they are unlikely to do this for the sake of showing off, ”says lawyer Igor Slabykh.

The US Department of the Treasury invites everyone to get information about violations of the law by Russian officials and oligarchs. An announcement even appeared on the Treasury’s official website: “Potential accomplices in investigations for facts and evidence can receive a maximum reward of $5.”

“Russia can retaliate, but they cannot do us the same damage as our sanctions. We have a stronger economy. Russia is just an exporter of raw materials and nothing more. We have various benefits. And I think that as the United States becomes aware of the serious crimes, the atrocities, the brutality of the massacres, we can take risks. Realizing that it is necessary to endure Russian retribution as the price we owe for rebuffing Putin's cruelty,” said Daniel Fried.

With private property that fell under the sanctions, it is more or less clear. The property of the Russians was arrested for a long time.

US President Joe Biden, immediately after the start of the war in Ukraine, repeatedly stated, referring to Russian oligarchs: “We will come to you and take all your property. That is, everything that is acquired not by overwork, but by dishonest labor. But so far, nothing is known about high-profile criminal cases. Perhaps right now, US law enforcement agencies are conducting a thorough investigation.

Read the most interesting news of the city in telegram channel of Denis Cheredov, the author of the New York Duty project.