You can now check out Russian oligarchs' yachts, helicopters, homes, and more on this new 'Asset Tracker' site
- A new tracker launched Monday detailing the assets of 11 Russian oligarchs, totaling $17.5 billion.
- You can view the oligarchs' homes or yachts, relevant sanctions, and family members.
As regulators, Twitter accounts, and activists hunt for Russian oligarchs' yachts and villas, investigators have a new tool: the Russian Asset Tracker.
"A sizable chunk of Russia's wealth has been siphoned offshore by corrupt politicians and well-connected businessmen. We wanted to know where it went — so we started hunting," a description attached to the tracker says.
The tracker, launched Monday, provides information on 11 oligarchs and their families or proxies with assets totaling $17.5 billion, some aired publicly for the first time, according to the tracker's introductory article.
The project is "powered" by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, (OCCRP) a global investigative journalism nonprofit. A variety of research and media organizations also participated.
The oligarch list includes businessmen, a TV and radio anchor, and government officials, such as Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson. The tracker began the project with a list of people who "'actively participate in the oppression and corruption of Putin's regime'" from the Anti-Corruption Foundation (which is headed by Alexei Navalny, critic of Putin and opposition leader, who was sentenced to nine years in prison on Tuesday).
Peskov's asset value is listed as "unknown" on the tracker, but he and his family were sanctioned by the US because they live "luxurious lifestyles that are incongruous with Peskov's civil servant salary," according to the US Treasury Department.
The tracker also lists the sanctions each person is under, from what entity, and what date they began. Peskov was sanctioned by the EU, Canada, and the US in February and March.
Like for the other oligarchs, the tracker lists his "related parties" and "known" assets.
For Peskov, the tracker shows an "Upmarket Parisian Apartment" of unknown value and traces its ownership: "As of November 2021, the property has been owned by the French firm Sirius SCI, which is controlled by Peskov's ex-wife, Ekaterina, and his daughter, Elizaveta," the tracker says.
The OCCRP included an FAQ on plane tracking and an article about why it is difficult to sanction Russian oligarchs.
Authorities are still trying, however: This week, Swiss authorities seized a luxury mountain home believed to be owned by Petr Aven, and Gibraltar said it seized a $75 million yacht owned by Dmitry Pumpyansky. The EU sanctioned 15 Russians last week.
Aven and Pumpyansky are not listed on the Russian Asset Tracker. The tracker also invites readers to submit information and said it will continue to be updated.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has continued. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that the country's attack on Mariupol would "go down in history of responsibility for war crimes." Russia apparently targeted a maternity hospital and an art school being used to shelter civilians.