Video shows the US making its first seizure of a Russian oligarch's superyacht, the $90 million 'Tango' docked in Spain

• The US seized a $90-million superyacht on Monday, the US Department of Justice confirmed.
• The vessel was seized in Spain and is believed to belong to Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg.

The US seized a superyacht believed to belong to Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg in Spain on Monday.

The seizure was a first for the US government after imposing sanctions against Vekselberg and other Russian oligarchs linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin last month. The sanctions targeted the billionaires' largest assets, most notably their multi-million dollar superyachts.

The Associated Press was the first to report on the seizure, which was later confirmed by the US Department of Justice (DOJ). FBI and members of the Spanish Civil Guard searched the vessel on Monday morning, a spokesperson from the Spanish Civil Guard told Associated Press.

A spokesperson from the Spanish Civil Guard did not respond to a request for comment from Insider, but the DOJ said in a press release that Spanish law enforcement acted under a request of the DOJ, following a seizure warrant filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.

"Today marks our taskforce's first seizure of an asset belonging to a sanctioned individual with close ties to the Russian regime. It will not be the last," US Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in the press release. "Together, with our international partners, we will do everything possible to hold accountable any individual whose criminal acts enable the Russian government to continue its unjust war."

The seized yacht, known as Tango, was seized at the Marina Real in Palma De Mallorca, Spain. The megayacht is 255-feet long and can accommodate about 14 guests alongside a crew of 22, according to Super Yacht Fan. The vessel is valued at $90 million, per the DOJ.

The Justice Department posted a video on YouTube of Spanish authorities and the FBI boarding the yacht.

The DOJ said Vekselberg — a billionaire who leads Renova Group, a metals, mining, and energy conglomerate — bought the yacht in 2011, but used shell companies to hide his ownership and "avoid bank oversight into U.S. dollar transactions related thereto." Experts previously told Insider that it can be a difficult and lengthy process to tie a yacht to its owner, as the yachts are typically listed under the names of secretaries and third-party business managers.

Vekselberg is known to be a close ally to Putin and is worth about $16.9 billion, according to Bloomberg's Billionaire Index. Since March, the US has frozen Vekselberg's assets in the country and forbidden all US-based companies from doing business with the Russian billionaire.

After Russia began its invasion into Ukraine on February 24, the US government assembled a task force to enforce the sanctions against Russia's elite.

"We are joining with our European allies to find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets," US President Joe Biden said in his State of The Union address on March 1. "We are coming for your ill-begotten gains."

It's not the first time that the billionaire has faced sanctions from the US. He was first sanctioned in 2018 and is currently facing sanctions from the EU and UK.

While it is the first successful US seizure of a Russian Oligarch's yacht, the governments in Spain, Italy, and France seized several yachts owned by Russia's elite over the past month.

The DOJ said it has obtained separate seizure warrants that target about $625,000 associated with other sanctioned parties in nine US financial institutions.