The US Treasury Department has established a new program, the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Rewards Program, to incentivize whistleblowers to identify and help recover Russian oligarchs’ and Russian officials’ assets or proceeds tied to government corruption.
The US wants to identify and freeze the assets of sanctioned Russian elites and family members, including their commercial real estate, luxury apartments, yachts, money and other ill-gotten gains. This is another way the US is attempting to put pressure on Putin and his supporters to halt Russia’s war on Ukraine.
The Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Rewards Program, announced last week, also applies to any instances where whistleblowers provide information about stolen assets or proceeds benefiting corrupt leaders in other kleptocracies. The Treasury Department has released the names of 28 oligarchs who are among the top priorities for the US and have been sanctioned by multiple jurisdictions, ranging from Aleksandr Babakov to Viktor Zolotov.
Additional US targets are assets and funds related to bribes paid by the Brazilian companies Odebrecht S.A. and Braskam S.A. and assets linked to corruption involving Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, known as 1MDB.
“Oligarchs be warned: we will use every tool to freeze and seize your criminal proceeds,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco in a statement earlier this month.
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