Seizing Oligarch’s Superyacht Means U.S. Now Must Pay for Upkeep

  • Billionaire Viktor Vekselberg’s Tango was impounded last week
  • Cost of maintaining the vessel could exceed $9 million a year
How the DOJ Goes After Russian Oligarch Assets
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When the superyacht Tango was seized by Spain at the behest of the U.S. last week, it marked a high-profile victory for the Justice Department’s KleptoCapture unit, a new group formed to track down the assets of sanctioned Russian oligarchs and others close to President Vladimir Putin.

Now comes the mundane -- and somewhat awkward -- part of confiscating Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg’s $95 million vessel: paying for yacht maintenance.