The United States withholds 1,000 million dollars from an oligarch close to Vladimir Putin

USA has withheld $1 billion in assets that Suleiman Kerimov, one of the Russian oligarchs sanctioned by Western governments, has in this country through a fund based in the state of Delaware, the Treasury Department announced on Friday.

The US authorities decided to block the funds after discovering that Kerimovone of the businessmen sanctioned for his ties to the Russian president, Vladimir Putinand the invasion of Ukraine, participates in the Heritage Trustcreated in July 2017 for the purpose of managing the oligarch’s assets in the United States.

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The Treasury Department added in a statement that Kerimov used a complex web of legal structures and front men to conceal his involvement in the Heritage Trust.whose funds reached the United States before the imposition of sanctions.

Heritage Trust funds were invested in major US companies and managed by US firms.

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Last April, the British television channel BBC revealed that Kerimov used a figurehead to hide some 300 million dollars.

The information was included in the so-called Pandora Papers, confidential documents obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

The documents also reveal that between 2010 and 2015, the US authorities considered several transfers linked to Kerimov and his associates worth 700 million dollars, although they did not prove that they were linked to the oligarch.

In addition, in May, the Fiji High Court, at the request of the US, seized a yacht held in the port of Lautoka that is allegedly owned by the Russian businessman.

Kerimov has been on the Treasury Department’s sanctions list since 2018.

Source: Elcomercio

Ronald Payne

I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.