US And Allies Form Russian Oligarch Hunt Task Force: Freeze And Confiscate Assets, Prepare Sanctions To Prosecution

Illustration of the flags of Russia and the United States of America. (Wikimedia Commons/US Department of State)

JAKARTA - The United States and its allies on Wednesday launched a multilateral task force to tackle Russia's oligarchy, stepping up cooperation in asset freezes as the West ramps up pressure on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.

Representatives from Australia, Canada, the European Commission, Germany, Italy, France, Japan, and the UK met virtually with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Attorney General Merrick Garland, the US Treasury said in a statement.

Countries agreed to collect and share information about the Russian oligarchs with the aim of actions including sanctions, freezing and confiscation of assets, and prosecution.

The United States provides a list of 50 people who are priorities for the United States, the Treasury Department said. It publicly released 28 names, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

"We will continue to work together to take all appropriate action against those whose criminal actions allow the Russian Government to continue its unfair war against Ukraine," Attorney General Garland said in a statement.

The United States and its allies have imposed several rounds of sanctions, including targeting oligarchs and officials, since Russian troops invaded Ukraine nearly three weeks ago.

The biggest offensive in Europe since World War Two, Moscow said was a special military operation, to demilitarize and denazify, without the intention of occupying territory and not targeting civilians.

The United States and allies last month announced they would launch a task force to identify and freeze the assets of sanctioned Russian companies and oligarchs.

The US Justice Department this month launched an interagency law enforcement task force known as 'KleptoCapture', which aims to strain the finances of Russia's oligarchs.

To note, the Treasury Department said in a Wednesday statement that cooperation between the United States and foreign partners has been successful in recent weeks, with the information provided by US law enforcement to partners contributing to the control of several vessels controlled by sanctioned persons and entities. The ships are collectively estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, the Treasury said.