The U.S. government has announced rewards of up to $5 million for information leading to the seizure of (or similar action taken against) assets related to Russian government corruption. The prospective rewards are associated with an initiative called the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Rewards Program, which is managed by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence in cooperation with personnel at the Departments of Justice and State and U.S. federal law enforcement agencies.
⚡️ Zelensky: 'Ukraine cannot compromise on its territorial integrity.'
President Zelensky told CNN that Ukrainians won’t accept any deal involving the loss of territory or sovereignty.
“There are compromises for which we cannot be ready as an independent state,” said Zelensky.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 20, 2022
As explained on a Treasury Department webpage, the “U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other U.S. law enforcement agencies seek information leading to the seizure, restraint, forfeiture, or repatriation of assets linked to corruption involving the government of the Russian Federation that are: (1) in an account at a U.S. financial institution, including a U.S. branch of a foreign financial institution; (2) that come within the United States; or (3) that come within the possession or control of any U.S. person.” The “Secretary of the Treasury has statutory authority to offer rewards up to a maximum of $5,000,000” in association with this push, that same webpage says. Business Insider notes that assets that could be subjected to seizure or restraint under this push include yachts, private jets, and the like — the sorts of things that have recently been the subjects of seizures by governments worldwide in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
⚡️Poll: 93% of Ukrainians believe in victory over Russia.
47% believe Ukraine can win the war in the next few weeks.
Source: Poll by the Rating Group.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 20, 2022
For instance, a remarkably high-dollar vessel that is apparently the world’s largest sailing yacht and is owned by Russian billionaire Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko has been seized by the Italian government. (Italian authorities ID’ed the vessel as the biggest sailing yacht.) The yacht under dispute is some 470 feet long and is worth around $578 million — a huge asset, both in terms of physical size and financial value. Other seizures have involved at least three yachts in Spain and a large building complex on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, which is in Italy — and apparently, U.S. authorities have provided information that has helped with seizures. “In the last three weeks alone, information provided by U.S. law enforcement to foreign partners has contributed to the restraint of multiple vessels controlled by sanctioned individuals and entities,” the Justice Department said last Wednesday.
⚡️ Ukrainian journalist released from Russian captivity.
Oleh Baturin, a journalist from Russian-occupied Kakhovka, Kherson Oblast, went missing on March 12.
“I was beaten, humiliated, threatened. They said they would kill me. They wanted to break me,” said Baturin.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 20, 2022
The U.S. and allies on the side of Ukraine in the unfolding war with Russia have also moved to deny Russia its most favored nation trade status designation in their respective countries; the designation, when in place, allows for relatively free trade. Bans on imports of Russian energy along with seafood and alcohol from Russia have recently been announced in the United States, and in Russia, the value of the country’s currency has plummeted while the Moscow stock exchange has remained closed for some time amid sanctions. The Putin regime is nonetheless standing by its assault on Ukraine, the true scope of which it largely refuses to acknowledge. After a bombing attack on a maternity hospital in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol, the Russian embassy in the U.K. claimed that one of the victims of the tragedy was simply wearing make-up to suggest wounds and hadn’t actually been there when the Russian strike hit.
⚡️115 children killed in Ukraine since start of Russian invasion.
140 more have been injured, according to the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 20, 2022
