Federal prosecutors in New York announced Wednesday they were moving to seize more than $5.3 million from a U.S. bank account belonging to sanctioned Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev, according to court documents.
Malofeyev was recently targeted by the United States in a round of sanctions, as the U.S. went after Russia over its war on Ukraine. On April 20, the U.S. unveiled sanctions targeting a key commercial bank and “a global network of more than 40 individuals and entities led by U.S.-designated Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev.”
At the time, the U.S. Treasury Department said it was also targeting “companies operating in Russia’s virtual currency mining industry, reportedly the third largest in the world,” noting it was the first time it has “designated a virtual currency mining company.”
The U.S. previously sanctioned Malofeyev in December 2014 for funding “separatist activities in eastern Ukraine” and for his close links to “Aleksandr Borodai, Igor Girkin (a.k.a. Igot Strelkov), and the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, which have all been previously sanctioned as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs),” according to a Treasury release at the time.
Earlier in April, the U.S. Department of Justice unveiled its first criminal charges since Russia’s war in Ukraine began against Malofeyev, indicting him for sanctions evasion attempts.
Malofeyev was again sanctioned by the U.S. on April 20 “for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly,” the government of Russia. The Treasury Department also sanctioned members of Malofeyev’s “vast global network of cut-outs and proxies to attempt to evade sanctions and conduct malign influence activities,” including those involved in pro-Kremlin propaganda.
Those sanctioned include entities in Russia, Moldova, Singapore and a number of Russian individuals, including Malofeyev’s son.
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