US Seizes Mega Yacht from Businessman with Alleged Putin Ties

APR 4 2022·Updated APR 7 2022

Story

Image credit: Wall Street Journal

The Facts

In a joint US and Spanish operation, Spanish police and the FBI seized a $90M superyacht in Spain belonging to Viktor Vekselberg, one of Russia's richest men. Vekselberg has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Business Insider
The detention of the 255 ft luxury yacht, named Tango, marks the first such seizure in the Biden administration's efforts to go after Russian oligarch's luxury assets such as real estate, private jets, and superyachts.
guardian
According to the Spanish police, the yacht was seized as part of investigations into fraud, money laundering, and false documents with an alleged intent to hide ownership of the yacht to avoid sanctions.
wsj
Vekselberg has been sanctioned in the US, but not in the EU.
Daily Mail
Since the invasion of Ukraine, authorities in France, Italy, Spain and other European countries have been seizing luxury assets owned by Russian businessmen and other sanctioned Russian citizens with alleged connections to Putin.
wsj

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

The only way to make Putin stop the war in Ukraine is to squeeze any Russian benefiting from links to Moscow. The US authorities will continue to 'seize and freeze' Russian oligarch's assets, wherever they try to hide them.

wsj

Establishment-critical narrative

It's hypocritical to impose sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine, but not on the US for invading Iraq for equally unjustified reasons, or on Israel for invading and annexing Arab lands.

Al Jazeera

Narrative C

Economic sanctions might make life difficult, but they'll never work to thwart the invasion. The only thing that will work is increasing military assistance to the Ukraine.

American Thinker

Libertarian narrative

These sanctions are unfair and there is a clear risk they will lead to widespread Russophobia. It's not just the sanctions on Russian oligarchs, there are also many informal sanctions on Russian culture and business. This is cancel culture stigmatizing an entire population for the crimes of one autocrat.