What is the Taskforce KleptoCapture?
The Taskforce KleptoCapture was established in March 2022 by the United States Department of Justice. The main goal of the Taskforce is to identify Russian oligarchs, government officials, and other wealthy individuals engaged in money laundering and terror funding and enforce sanctions on them in response to Russia’s actions against Ukraine earlier this year. The Department of Justice announced TaskForce’s creation on March 2, 2022.
The meaning behind ‘KleptoCapture’
The name KleptoCapture was made using the word klepto, which means ‘to steal’. The term kleptocracy refers to the rich and powerful faction of society who earned their wealth by stealing money from the rest of the people. Hence, KleptoCapture means to capture those who steal (here, referring to the money and resources that have been ‘stolen’ through illegal activities) from society.
Aim of the TaskForce KleptoCapture
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the TaskForce Kleptocapture was created with these specific goals in mind-
- To investigate any violators of all sanctions imposed in relation to the Ukraine invasion as well as past instances of Russian aggression and criminally prosecute them if need be.
- To combat all attempts to bypass the sanctions placed on Russian financial institutions, including subjects attempting to bypass AML and KYC measures.
- To prevent violators from using cryptocurrency and other anonymity-enhanced methods in order to evade sanctions and fund the Russian militia and spread corruption.
- To identify and seize all assets belonging to sanctioned individuals in an attempt to refrain them from using these assets to fund terror, as well as reclaim assets bought by wealth generated by unlawful means.
The history behind the events between Russia and Ukraine
The conflict between Ukraine and Russia goes long back, and the intent of the former to join NATO was what broke the straw on the camel’s back. NATO was formed in 1949 in the aftermath of World War 2, with the aim to prevent the influence of the Soviet Union from spreading all over the Union. The Soviet Union itself continued to exist until 1991, after which Ukraine became a free country.
However, Russia still continued to hold some amount of influence over the newly independent country and considered it an ally. Ukraine shares borders with Russia towards the east, and also has access to maritime trade via the Black Sea. It is also the second-largest country in Europe. All of these factors combined made it extremely advantageous to Russia.
According to reports, NATO promised Russia that it would not expand towards the east after the fall of the Soviet Union. However, Ukraine’s determination to join NATO was seen as a threat to this promise and to Russia’s power over Ukraine. Ukraine ultimately refused to back down from its resolution, causing Russia to launch a full-blown invasion of the country in an attempt to absorb it back into itself.
The large scale on which violence and destruction ensued left the rest of the world reeling with shock, and prompted the United States to take action against disgraced Russia. To hold them accountable for their actions, they decided to impose a number of economic and financial sanctions on the country, blocking it from participating in International trade.
Sanctions included freezing Russia’s overseas assets, blocking air travel routes, and pulling their investments from Russian businesses and companies. One of the most prominent of these was Executive Order 14068, which explicitly prohibited the import of Russian Luxury goods, striking a heavy blow to their economy.
They also began to go after Russian Oligarchs, a number of wealthy Russian individuals who accumulated wealth following the fall of the Soviet Union. These Oligarchs are open supporters of the Russian government’s violent policies and are known to use their wealth to fund military operations and other questionable activities, such as helping fund the invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. took a stance against these influential people, implementing blocking statutes on their foreign properties, yachts, and other assets.
However, the Oligarchs found loopholes in the sanctions and were able to bypass them by transferring their assets to sanctions-free countries, concealing their properties and investments, and creating irrevocable trusts. In this way, they were able to evade prosecution and flee while continuing to support and fund the current violent regime.
In response to this situation, the President of the United States approved the creation of the TaskForce KleptoCapture.
Formation and Structure of the TaskForce KleptoCapture
The task force was created by assigning a number of agents and prosecutors from various federal agencies. The members of the squad were given the authority to investigate and pursue anyone in violation of these sanctions, as well as criminally persecute them if need be.
The TaskForce is headquartered in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General and headed by the former co-chief of the Southern District of New York’s Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises unit. The organization itself includes many experienced individuals like Deputy Directors and attorneys from the National Security and Criminal Divisions, Tax Division, and Civil Division. Additionally, there are agents and other officers from the U.S. Marshals Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Postal Inspection Service, the Secret Service, the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The TaskForce KleptoCapture will also cooperate with the transatlantic task force set in motion by the European Commission and other involved countries like Germany, France, Canada, and the United Kingdom. This would help to improve the lines of communication regarding foreign assets and would help to apprehend violators seeking refuge in other countries.
The TaskForce has employed a number of data analysts and agents who utilize resources such as information from both public and private financial sectors, stock and cryptocurrency trading, information from foreign intelligence, and other similar data. There is an emphasis on tracing cryptocurrency transactions, as Oligarchs have been found to be using the enhanced levels of privacy and anonymity to transfer their assets in the form of BitCoin and other crypto coins. In apprehending instances of money laundering, the TaskForceis successfully prevented terrorist funding and violent propaganda at the hands of the Oligarchs.
So far, the TaskForce Kleptocapture has seized a number of private aircraft, yachts, and other property as per the directions of the United States Treasury and the FBI.
Conclusion
In response to Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the U.S. laid a number of sanctions on the country to isolate it from the rest of the world. However, Russian government officials, businesses, and the rich and powerful Oligarchs were able to bypass these sanctions and continue to engage in unlawful activities and money laundering. In March 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice created the TaskForce KleptoCapture to specifically zone in on and prosecute the violators of these sanctions and bring them to Justice.
