US Freezes Billions in Russian Oligarch’s Assets

US Freezes Russian Oligarch’s Assets Investigators have seized Delaware-based Heritage Trust from Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov, the Treasury Department in Washington said yesterday. The company is valued at one billion dollars (about 953 million euros).

Heritage Trust, founded in 2017, funneled money to the U.S. through shell companies and low-profile foundations set up in Europe, according to the Treasury Department. Kerimov has been on the US sanctions list since 2018 over allegations of money laundering and his ties to the Russian government.

The luxury yacht is anchored in Fiji

The billionaire from Dagestan, a Russian republic in the Caucasus, rose to become one of the world’s richest men after the fall of the Soviet Union. Among other things, his family controls the gold producer Palius. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index lists Kerimo as the 127th richest person in the world with a net worth of $13.3 billion.

A few weeks ago, the US seized a 300 million euro yacht allegedly owned by Kerimo. At the request of the United States, authorities in the Fiji Islands seized the vessel and handed it over to Washington.