The Biden government has accused a Russian Kremlin-linked oligarch of violating US government sanctions and shutting down a cybercrime operation launched by a Russian military intelligence service, officials said Wednesday. The move comes as the Justice Department says it is stepping up efforts to track down illegal Russian assets and as U.S. prosecutors help their European counterparts gather evidence of possible war crimes committed by Russia during the war in Ukraine. FBI and Justice Department officials announced the moves as the United States separately revealed sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two adult daughters and tougher penalties against Russian banks. “We have our eyes on every dollar and jet. “We have our eyes on every piece of art and real estate bought with dirty money and every bitcoin wallet full of proceeds from theft and other crimes,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, adding that “our goal is to ensure that the Russians “oligarchs who have been imposed and cybercriminals will not find safe haven.” Live Russia-Ukraine updates The indictment against Konstantin Malofeyev, a Russian media baron and founder of the Russian Orthodox news channel Tsargrad TV, is the first by an oligarch since Russia’s war with Ukraine began in February. Malofeyev has called the invasion a “holy war” and has backed pro-Russian separatist groups in Ukraine. He was fined by the Ministry of Finance in 2014 for funding Russians promoting autonomy in Crimea. Although the sanctions barred him from doing business with US citizens, prosecutors say Malofeyev circumvented those restrictions by hiring an American TV producer to work for him on TV networks in Russia and Greece and trying to acquire a network in Bulgaria. , as a way of dissemination. pro-Russian propaganda in Europe. Jack Hanick, a former CNBC and Fox News employee, was arrested last month for his work as a television producer for Malofeyev. Malofeyev is not in custody and is believed to be in Russia. It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer to speak for him. The Justice Department said it had also seized a $ 10 million investment that Malofeyev had tried to transfer illegally to a business associate in Greece. The Justice Department also said it had shot down a botnet – a computer network commonly compromised for malicious activity – controlled by the Russian military intelligence service known as the GRU. The botnet, which in this case involved thousands of infected network hardware devices, was dismantled before any damage was caused, said FBI Director Christopher Wray. Wednesday’s announcement came two days after US officials seized a huge yacht in Spain belonging to a Russian oligarch, Victor Wexelberg, with close ties to Russian President Putin. The Justice Department last year targeted Russia-based cybercrime, recovering most of the multimillion-dollar ransom paid by the Colonial Pipeline to a hacker in June following a cessation of ransomware attack. And the department announced charges last fall against two suspected ransomware operators. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Justice Department prosecutors, meanwhile, were assisting in international efforts to uncover possible war crimes committed by Russia. U.S. officials have met with European prosecutors to develop a plan to gather evidence, he said. “People are watching what is happening in Ukraine,” Garland said. “The Ministry of Justice sees what is happening in Ukraine. “ The Morning and Afternoon Newsletters are compiled by Globe editors, giving you a brief overview of the day’s most important headlines. Register today.
