The announcement came at a press conference in which Garland and other top Justice Department officials reported actions against Russia, including the disruption of a so-called botnet, or hacked computer network controlled by the Russian government. Garland – who highlighted some of the horrific images coming from Ukraine and noted that the United States is assisting international efforts to investigate possible war crimes in the midst of Russia’s invasion there – said the moves were intended to send an “unmistakable” message. message to the Kremlin and its affiliates. “We saw the corpses of civilians, some with their hands tied, scattered in the streets. “We have seen mass graves,” Garland said, vowing to pursue those who illegally benefit from Russia’s corruption and violence. “It does not matter how far you travel on your yacht. “It does not matter how well you hide your assets,” he said. “It does not matter how cleverly you write your malware or hide your online activity. “The Ministry of Justice will use every available tool to find you, disrupt your conspiracies and hold you accountable.” The United States is weighing tougher sanctions on Russia following reports of assassinations Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said the indictment against Konstantin Malofeyev marked the first time the Justice Ministry had issued criminal charges against a Russian oligarch since Russia invaded Ukraine. He warned that more would follow. “We have our eyes on every yacht and jet. “We have our eyes on every work of art and real estate bought with dirty money,” Monaco said. On Monday, US authorities seized a 255-foot, $ 90 million yacht in Spain belonging to Russian billionaire Victor Wexelberg, who was hit by sanctions in 2018. Garland said the Treasury Department had previously identified Malofeyev as “one of the main sources of funding for Russians promoting autonomy in Crimea,” a Ukrainian territory annexed by Russia in 2014, and claimed that Malofeyev had provided “material support “to the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, an separatist government. After being added to a sanctions list in 2014, Garland said, Malofeyev sought to use conspirators to gain access to the media. He reportedly paid an American TV producer, Jack Hannick, to help him with his business plans. The indictment alleges that Malofeyev instructed Hanick to set up and run a Greek television network and to acquire a television network in Bulgaria. Hanik was charged a month ago in the alleged plot. According to the indictment, Hanik traveled to Greece and Bulgaria in 2015 and 2016 to work on Malofeyev’s media initiatives, in which the Russian allegedly instructed Hanik to hide Malofiyev’s role in the business ventures. . Malofeyev also allegedly used Hanick to help him transfer a $ 10 million investment to a Texas bank. Why are Donetsk and Luhansk in the Donbass region of Ukraine a hotbed for Putin? Garland said the United States had seized “millions of dollars” from an account at a US financial institution which he said was found in breaches of Malofeyev’s sanctions. Asked whether Malofeyev’s allegations, based on his years of conduct, suggested that the Justice Department should move faster in sanctions cases, Garland insisted that prosecutors were “moving too fast” to hold the Russian oligarchs accountable. Separately, the attorney general said the Justice Department had shut down a global botnet of the Russian military intelligence service known as the GRU. FBI Director Christopher A. Wray said the botnet contained thousands of devices, but the United States stopped it “before it could do any harm” – signaling a more aggressive approach to sophisticated hacking plans such as those launched by the Russian government. U.S. officials said the Russian government had used similar infrastructure to attack Ukrainian targets. “We will not wait for our investigations to be completed to act,” Ray said. In that case, he said, law enforcement removed the malware from devices used by small businesses and then made it so that Russia could not return. In another warning to the Kremlin, Garland said the United States supports international efforts to investigate possible war crimes in Ukraine. He said the Justice Ministry was helping to gather evidence at the request of a Ukrainian prosecutor and officials met with their counterparts in Paris and discussed with prosecutors elsewhere in Europe to discuss the best way to gather information. DOCUMENTATION OF RUSSIAN VICTIMS IN UKRAINE
