US charges two men with facilitating sanctions evasion of Russian oligarch's yacht

The US government said on Friday it charged two businessmen, one Russian and one British, with allegedly facilitating a sanctions evasion and money laundering scheme in relation to a $90 million yacht of billionaire Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg.

Vladislav Osipov, 51, a Russian national, and Richard Masters, 52, a UK national, were charged in indictments unsealed in a US court on Friday with conspiracy to defraud the United States and to commit offences against the United States, the US Justice Department said in a statement.

The United States requested Spain to arrest Masters for extradition, the Justice Department said, adding his arrest was executed on Friday and an arrest warrant against Osipov was outstanding. Reuters could not reach representatives of Osipov and Masters for comment.

Spanish police last year impounded a superyacht belonging to Vekselberg on behalf of US authorities. Valued at around $90 million, the 78-metre (255 ft) long "Tango" was seized in a shipyard on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca.

The indictment alleges that Masters ran a yacht management company in Spain, which took over the management of Tango after Vekselberg was sanctioned in April 2018, and conspired with others to evade the US sanctions.

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