Resumen de Yachts and airplanes: what procedures and legal theories are being used to forfeit russian assets in the United States?
For the past year – since the Russian invasion of Ukraine – there has been a great deal of interest in the seizure and forfeiture of the assets of the Russian oligarchs who have become subject to international economic sanctions. Different countries have taken different approaches: Some have merely been freezing the assets of sanctioned persons based on statutory authority to restrain their movement. Others have found ways to confiscate – or permanently take title to – these assets, invoking a variety of legal theories and instruments to do so.
In the United States, the approach has been to obtain a seizure warrant based on probable cause to believe that a yacht, airplane, or other asset of a sanctioned Russian individual or entity is subject to forfeiture because of its nexus to a criminal offence; then to seek the assistance of the courts in the jurisdiction where the asset is located to serve the warrant and take custody of the asset; and ultimately to file a civil (“non-conviction-based”) forfeiture action against it, with a view to permanently depriving the owner of the property or title to it.
To date, the United States has obtained seizure warrants for several yachts and airplanes. While it has been able to seize two of them with the assistance of foreign governments, it has yet to file a civil forfeiture action against any property. This article describes the procedure that the law enforcement authorities in the United States have been using to obtain seizure warrants and take custody of Russian assets. It also discusses the legal theories that the Government has used to obtain those warrants and is likely to use when it files formal civil forfeiture actions in the federal courts.
