US investigators: Russian oligarchs trying to evade sanctions

US investigators claim that they have found Russian oligarchs are trying to evade sanctions which are part of Washington’s offensive against Moscow over the military campaign in Ukraine, according to the head of a new Justice Department task force.  

Andrew Adams, a veteran prosecutor tapped to lead the task force established last month said on Friday that in some cases, even Russian oligarchs who are not sanctioned are trying to move assets ahead of potential future penalties, according to Reuters.

Adams said that oligarchs trying to evade sanctions are facing an "all-time high" level of international cooperation to track the wealth of Russian elites.

"There are efforts afoot - some of them publicly reported - to move, for example, moveable property in the forms of yachts, airplanes ... into jurisdictions where, I think, people have the perception that it would be more difficult to investigate and more difficult to freeze," Adams said.

The Biden administration has imposed harsh economic and banking sanctions on Russia in response to Russia's military actions in Ukraine.

Biden said the sanctions would limit Russia's ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds and yen.

The US president claimed that the only other alternative to the sanctions would be to start a “Third World War.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this month that Western sanctions on Russia were akin to a declaration of war.

US blacklists Russian entities for ‘evasion of international sanctions’

The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on dozens of Russian individuals and entities it says are working to evade US-led sanctions aimed at imposing severe costs on Moscow and bankrupting the country’s military,.

On March 2, the US government launched the task force intending to enforce sweeping sanctions imposed on Russian officials over the crisis in Ukraine.

Known as "KleptoCapture", the task force aims to squeeze the finances of Russian officials as part of an effort to force Russia to end its week-long military intervention in the former Soviet republic.

The task force, comprising interagency law enforcement officers from the FBI, Marshals Service, IRS, Postal Inspection, Homeland Security Investigations, and Secret Service,  is aimed at “Russian officials, government-aligned elites, and those who aid or conceal their unlawful conduct,” according to Attorney General, Merrick Garland.

Adams said on Friday that tracing the assets of oligarchs is often difficult because they are hidden behind "layers of shell companies scattered around the globe.”

He added that American prosecutors are receiving information from places previously thought to be safe havens.

"Especially in the current context, and the current climate... the level of shared sense of purpose I think is at an all-time high," Adams said.

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