DOJ launches ‘KleptoCapture’ task force to target Russian oligarchs

The Justice Department launched a “KleptoCapture” task force aimed at enforcing U.S. sanctions issued against the Kremlin following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with President Joe Biden vowing to go after the crimes committed by Russian oligarchs.

The DOJ said Wednesday the new interagency law enforcement effort would be “dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export restrictions, and economic countermeasures that the United States has imposed, along with allies and partners, in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine” and that it would enforce the sanctions “by targeting the crimes of Russian officials, government-aligned elites, and those who aid or conceal their unlawful conduct.”

Biden gave a preview of the “KleptoCapture” initiative during his State of the Union address Tuesday evening.

“Tonight I say to the Russian oligarchs and corrupt leaders who have bilked billions of dollars off this violent regime — no more,” the president said. “The Department of Justice is assembling a dedicated task force to go after the crimes of Russian oligarchs. We are joining with our European allies to find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets. We are coming for your ill-begotten gains.”

RUSSIAN OLIGARCHS CALL FOR PEACE AS THEY ARE HAMMERED BY US SANCTIONS

The Justice Department said this new task force would be charged with investigating and prosecuting violations of U.S. sanctions against Russia, including those issued related to prior instances of Russian criminality, combating efforts to undermine sanctions against Russian banks, targeting attempts to use cryptocurrency to get around the sanctions, and carrying out forfeitures to seize the assets belonging to sanctioned Russians.

“The Justice Department will use all of its authorities to seize the assets of individuals and entities who violate these sanctions,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said Wednesday. “We will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to investigate, arrest, and prosecute those whose criminal acts enable the Russian government to continue this unjust war. Let me be clear: If you violate our laws, we will hold you accountable.”

The effort will be run out of the office of Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, who said, “Oligarchs be warned: We will use every tool to freeze and seize your criminal proceeds.”

Two prominent Russian billionaires who had been swept up in claims of Russian election meddling and debunked allegations of Russian collusion have called for peace as the U.S. has hammered the Russian economy with sanctions.

Mikhail Fridman, a co-founder of Russia’s Alfa-Bank, which was the subject of debunked claims of a secret back channel to the Trump Organization during the 2016 presidential election, has voiced objections to Putin's war. Oleg Deripaska, known for his prior business relationships with former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and British ex-spy Christopher Steele and accused of assisting the Russian government’s influence operations worldwide, also piped up for peace.

Deripaska said on his Telegram page over the weekend, “Peace is very important! Negotiations need to start as soon as possible!”

Fridman's call for peace was more direct — and personal.

“I was born in Western Ukraine and lived there until I was 17. My parents are Ukrainian citizens and live in Lviv, my favorite city,” Fridman wrote in a weekend email to staff at his U.K. equity firm LetterOne. “But I have also spent much of my life as a citizen of Russia, building and growing businesses. I am deeply attached to Ukrainian and Russian peoples and see the current conflict as a tragedy for them both.”

Fridman continued, warning that the war is splitting countries with common bonds.

“I do not make political statements, I am a businessman with responsibilities to my many thousands of employees in Russia and Ukraine," Fridman wrote. "I am convinced however that war can never be the answer. This crisis will cost lives and damage two nations who have been brothers for hundreds of years … While a solution seems frighteningly far off, I can only join those whose fervent desire is for the bloodshed to end.”

Fridman is worth $13.4 billion, according to Forbes, with Deripaska worth $3.9 billion. The outlet reported last week that Russia’s more than 100 billionaires had lost more than $126 billion since mid-February, including $71 billion on Thursday alone.

Alfa-Bank was sanctioned by the Biden administration last Thursday as part of sweeping U.S. financial sanctions against Russia.

The European Union on Monday sanctioned Russian oligarchs such as Fridman and his Alfa-Bank co-founder, Petr Aven. The EU said Fridman and Aven "actively supported materially or financially and benefited from Russian decision-makers responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilization of Ukraine."

Fridman and Aven released a statement Monday saying that sanctioning them "will have no impact on Russia’s actions in Ukraine because Petr and Mikhail have no financial or political relationship with President Putin."

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Russia’s state-run TASS news agency said more than three dozen representatives of Russia’s business community met with Putin on Thursday, including Aven.

Other Russian businessmen, journalists, and entertainers have also spoken out against Russia’s invasion, and hundreds of people have been arrested during protests.