United States Attorney General Merrick Garland has authorized the first transfer of funds seized from Russian oligarchs to aid Ukraine. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Garland announced a new task force, dubbed KleptoCapture, that specifically targeted Russian oligarchs who sought to evade the deluge of U.S. sanctions imposed against Russian entities.
Last year, U.S. President Joe Biden had called on Congress to make it easier to transfer sized oligarch assets to Ukraine. In December, Congress passed a law that allowed certain assets that were sized to be funneled to Ukraine. In April, the Justice Department asked Congress to expand the assets that can be sent to Ukraine, particularly funds seized for violating export controls.
