President Donald Trump’s dismantling of Task Force KleptoCapture, an anti–corruption initiative set up in 2022 to seize the assets of Russian oligarchs, has set off a “dizzying” shift in “dirty money coming into the United States,” a source told the New York Times. In addition to shutting down the task force, the Trump administration has also ordered the Justice Department to end the enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, banning businesses from paying bribes. Under former President Joe Biden’s tenure, KleptoCapture traced yachts, jets and luxury properties hidden behind shell companies in global tax havens, which were sold to help fund Ukraine’s defense against Russia. The task force’s most prominent case involved the 2022 seizure of a $300 million yacht owned by Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov. After its shutdown in February, KleptoCapture scored a post-mortem victory in March, NYT reported. After a lengthy legal battle and several attempts by the Trump administration to interfere with the process, a judge ruled that Kerimov was the true owner of the yacht and that the U.S. government was allowed to sell it.
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