The decision by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on day 1 of her new job to shut down a special unit focusing on seizing Russian oligarchs' assets reflects the dramatically shifting priorities in international law enforcement under the new administration of Donald Trump.
The previous administration of President Joe Biden trumpeted KleptoCapture, as the unit was known, as a significant success. A year ago, the Justice Department, which Bondi now heads, said the task force had "restrained, seized, and obtained judgments to forfeit nearly $700 million in assets from Russian enablers and charged more than 70 individuals for violating international sanctions and export controls levied against Russia."
The task force was set up after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Seizing Aircraft And Yachts
It made early headlines by obtaining a warrant to seize two aircraft belonging to Roman Abramovich, as the Biden administration sought to signal its intent to go hard and fast after Russian billionaires with Kremlin connections.
Other oligarchs had their yachts seized. One of them was Viktor Vekselberg, who made his fortune in oil and metals trading, and is estimated to be worth around $7.9 billion.
Now, Bondi has announced "a fundamental change in mindset and approach." She announced that funds currently allocated to oligarch asset seizures and sanctions enforcement will instead be used for "the total elimination of Cartels and TCOs," a reference to transnational criminal organizations.
So, will wealthy Russians be popping their champagne corks? Maybe not.
Bondi has not said that cases already begun by KleptoCapture will be dropped. They are still likely to continue, but there just won't be a special unit dedicated to them. Likewise, new cases may also still be brought.
"Are we going to suddenly see a surge of sanctioned oligarch wealth flood into the United States? I don't think so," said Andrew Adams, the first leader of KleptoCapture who is now at Washington, D.C.-based law firm Steptoe.
"What you will see is a sharp decline in the pace of charges that target facilitators that are specific to Russia," he said.
Ukrainian Justice Minister Olha Stefanishyna told RFE/RL that it was too early to make "alarming statements" about the U.S. move.
"I'm confident that once the new administration is in place, there will be an opportunity to discuss important issues. As far as I understand, the issue of frozen assets is also of interest to the new U.S. administration. Therefore, I expect that as soon as the relevant officials are appointed, we will begin a dialogue," she added.
Taking On The Cartels
Nevertheless, the move does signal reprioritization toward a focus on drug cartels. This is perhaps not surprising, since the issue featured strongly in Trump's election campaign. Trump has issued an executive order declaring the cartels to be terrorist organizations.
KleptoCapture is not the only program being ditched.
Attorney General Bondi also ended the Foreign Influence Task Force, which was established in Trump's first administration to police disinformation campaigns aimed at sowing discord and undermining democracy.
Another program being shelved is the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, which was set up in 2010 to seize assets owned by foreign officials deemed to be corrupt or exploiting their own countries' assets or wealth.
That initiative recorded several high-profile asset seizures, including an $850 million case against Gulnara Karimova, the elder daughter of the late president of Uzbekistan. Charged with accepting bribes to help a Dutch telecom company to enter the Uzbek market, she is currently in an Uzbek prison.
Gary Kalman, the U.S. executive director of anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International, said that the elimination of the KleptoCapture Task Force and the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative "will significantly diminish the U.S.'s ability to counter the transnational corruption that continues to threaten core U.S. security and economic interests."
"That leaves the victims of corruption around the world with incomplete justice," he added.
