A Russian billionaire and three others were criminally charged in New York with violating US sanctions in a scheme to ensure his child was born in the US, an indictment unsealed on Thursday showed.
Oligarch Oleg Deripaska has faced other economic sanctions since 2018, when the US Treasury Department accused him of acting for or on behalf of a senior Russian official and operating in the energy sector of the Russian economy.
Andrew Adams, a Manhattan federal prosecutor who heads a task force pursuing crimes by Russian oligarchs, said in a release that Mr Deripaska had lied and evaded US sanctions as he sought to benefit from life in America, “despite his cosy ties with the Kremlin and his vast wealth acquired through ties to a corrupt regime”.
US authorities seize Russian oligarch’s super yacht — in photos
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A US Homeland Security Police agent climbs on board the 'Tango' superyacht, belonging to Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, which was seized on behalf of US authorities, as it is docked in Mallorca, Spain. Reuters -
Spanish civil guards and US agents of Homeland Security and the FBI search a yacht owned by Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. AFP -
The seized yatch 'Tango' moors in the port of Palma de Mallorca. It was seized by authorities in concordance with US sanctions imposed against oligarchs and their assets being frozen in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. EPA -
The unidentified prosecutor of the case disembarks 'Tango', followed by Spanish civil guards and US federal agents, in Palma de Mallorca. EPA -
The 'Tango' is seized by authorities. EPA -
The 'Tango' belongs to Renova Group chief Viktor Vekselberg and was seized in the port of Palma de Mallorca, Spain. EPA -
A civil guard and a police dog walk off the yacht. AP -
The yacht is among the assets linked to Viktor Vekselberg, a billionaire and close ally of Russia's President Vladimir Putin, US Treasury Department documents have claimed. AP
“The hypocrisy in seeking comfort and citizenship in the United States while enjoying the fruits of a ruthless, anti-democratic regime is striking,” Mr Adams said.
“That Deripaska practised that hypocrisy through lies and criminal sanctions evasion has made him a fugitive from the country he so desperately wished to exploit.”
Only one of the four charged in the indictment — Olga Shriki of New Jersey — is in custody.
Ms Shriki was charged in part with trying to help another woman charged in the case — Ekaterina Olegovna Voronina — to get into the US to give birth to Mr Deripaska’s child.
Authorities said Mr Deripaska spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to make it possible for his child to be born in the US so the child could take advantage of the US healthcare system and the benefits of a US birthright. The child, upon birth, received US citizenship.
Following the birth, Mr Deripaska's alleged co-conspirators worked to conceal the name of the child’s true father by slightly misspelling the child’s last name, the indictment said.
The indictment said that Mr Deripaska is the owner and controller of Basic Element Limited, a private investment and management company used to advance his various business interests.
IT included demands that Mr Deripaska and his alleged co-conspirators forfeit assets in the US, including a Washington property and two Manhattan properties.
