U.S. charges oligarch tied to Kremlin

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has charged a Russian oligarch linked to the Kremlin with violating U.S. government sanctions and disrupted a cybercrime operation that was launched by a Russian military intelligence agency, officials said Wednesday.

The actions came as the Justice Department said it was accelerating efforts to track down illicit Russian assets and as U.S. prosecutors helped European counterparts gather evidence on potential war crimes committed by Russia during its war on Ukraine.

FBI and Justice Department officials announced the moves on the same day that the U.S. separately revealed sanctions against the two adult daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin and sanctions that blocked two key Russian banks.

“We have our eyes on every yacht and jet. We have our eyes on every piece of art and real estate purchased with dirty money and on every bitcoin wallet filled with proceeds of theft and other crimes,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said, adding that “our goal is to ensure that sanctioned Russian oligarchs and cyber criminals will not find safe haven.”

The indictment against Konstantin Malofeyev, a Russian media baron and founder of Russian Orthodox news channel Tsargrad TV, is the first of an oligarch since Russia’s war with Ukraine began in February. Malofeyev has trumpeted the invasion as a “holy war” and has supported Russia-aligned separatist groups in Ukraine.

Malofeyev is not in custody and is believed to be in Russia. The two sanctions charges each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

The Justice Department said it is seeking the seizure of a $10 million investment that Malofeyev had illegally transferred to a business associate in Greece.