(Bloomberg) — The Justice Department unsealed an indictment against Konstantin Malofeev for sanctions violations, the first U.S. charges against a Russian tycoon since the invasion of Ukraine.
The announcement came in a news conference Wednesday by Attorney General Merrick Garland, in which he said the U.S. had seized millions of dollars from an account traced to Malofeev. Garland also said the department is collecting evidence of war crimes.
Read More: Russian Oligarch’s Yacht Seized in Spain at Request of U.S.
Russia faced new sanctions after launching its war on Ukraine in February. Garland in March announced the launch of a team to enforce sanctions, export restrictions and economic measures imposed in response to the invasion.
“When we announced the launch of the KleptoCapture Taskforce last month, I said we would leave no stone unturned in our efforts to investigate, arrest, and prosecute those whose criminal acts enable Russia to continue its unjust war in Ukraine,” Garland said Wednesday. “That is a promise we are keeping.”
Sources of Financing
In targeting Malofeev for sanctions in 2014, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said he was “one of the main sources of financing for Russians promoting separatism in Crimea.”
The U.S. “will continue to work alongside our international partners to hold accountable those who break our laws, threaten our national security, and harm our allies,” Garland said at the conference.
Turning to war crimes reported in Ukraine, he said “we are assisting international efforts to identify and hold accountable those responsible for atrocities in Ukraine” and are “in the collection-of-evidence stage.”
The indictment against Malofeev comes a month after the U.S. said it had charged former Fox News producer Jack Hanick with violating sanctions for allegedly working for Malofeev from 2013 to 2017, helping him set up a Russian cable network.
Malofeev owns Tsargrad TV, a conservative, pro-Orthodox-Christian channel that has supported Russian President Vladimir Putin. Hanick also worked for Malofeev on projects to set up a Greek television network and to buy a Bulgarian network, according to prosecutors. Hanick, a U.S. citizen, was arrested in London on Feb 3.
Read More: Ex-Fox News Producer Charged With Violating Russia Sanctions
(Adds details and context in second and third sections.)
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
