U.S. Justice Department disbands task force searching for assets of sanctioned Russian billionaires — The Guardian

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has disbanded the KleptoCapture task force, a Treasury Department initiative launched in 2022 to target business figures with ties to the Kremlin, The Guardian reported on Thursday, citing an internal memo from Bondi.

The memo, dated February 5, states that the task force is being dissolved to reallocate resources toward efforts against drug cartels and international organized crime.

Prosecutors formerly assigned to the group are to return to their previous roles. The memo notes that the changes will remain in effect for at least 90 days, after which they may be extended or made permanent.

The Treasury Department created KleptoCapture following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine to enforce sanctions and seize Russian business assets. During its operation, the task force brought sanctions violation charges against Russian billionaires Oleg Deripaska and Konstantin Malofeev and seized yachts believed to belong to Suleiman Kerimov, a billionaire senator from Dagestan, and oligarch Viktor Vekselberg.

In 2023, KleptoCapture secured the seizure of $5.4 million linked to Malofeev. The funds, which had been frozen back in 2014, were transferred to aid Ukraine — the first instance of frozen assets of Russian businessmen being redirected to Kyiv.