A British man and a Russian man are accused of hiding an $80 million luxury yacht owned by Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg. The two tried to disguise her country of origin. The $80 million, 255-foot luxury yacht was owned by Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg
Two businessmen have been accused of supporting Putin by “hiding” a Russian megayacht owned by a sanctioned Russian oligarch by changing its name from Tango to Penta.
Richard Masters, 52, a British citizen, and Vladislav Osipov, 51, a Russian citizen, are accused of aiding sanctions evasion and money laundering in the operation of the luxury vessel.
The $80 million, 255-foot luxury yacht owned by Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, the two allegedly tried to disguise its origin and its trade in the US.
Masters, who runs a yacht management company in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, was arrested on January 20 by Spanish police, and an arrest warrant for Osipov is pending. U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves of the District of Columbia responded to the arrests and said: “They helped evade sanctions for oligarchs who support Vladimir Putin’s regime, a contempt for American law. The U.S. will not allow its financial institutions and people to manipulate or defraud for the purposes of supporting an illegal war.”
The indictment claims that the two defendants used a variety of techniques to disguise the ownership of the yacht in violation of American law. By hiding the real owner of the yacht, the men tried to do business in the US, which would not have happened if its real owner was known. The Spanish police describe him as “a person very close to Vladimir Putin”.