So How is the U.S. Seizing the SuperYachts and Horses Going?

It’s not cheap maintaining all of the assets the government seizes, especially those super yachts Biden lifted in his moment of pique with Russia.

• Billionaire Viktor Vekselberg’s Tango was impounded.
• Cost of maintaining the vessel could exceed $9 million a year

When the superyacht Tango was seized by Spain at the behest of the U.S., it marked a high-profile victory for the Justice Department’s KleptoCapture unit, a new group formed to track down the assets of sanctioned Russian oligarchs and others close to President Vladimir Putin.

Now comes the mundane — and somewhat awkward — part of confiscating Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg’s $95 million vessel: paying for yacht maintenance

It’s not just the cost of maintenance. The U.S. is spending millions of dollars trying to confiscate assets. It turns out other governments are not always willing to just hand over the boats. As it turns out, whose boats they take is questionable at best. Just how does one prove they are a buddy of Putin.

Here is a story out of Great Britain recently.

But it’s not Russia’s stuff that the government seizes and has to maintain. How about this horse the government took that they thought was a good idea?

The US Government sold a $750,000 showjumping horse back to its owner for just $25,000 after realizing it would cost too much to look after, Bloomberg reported.

Authorities initially seized the horse, called Lex, after its owner, the Atlanta accountant Jack Fisher, was indicted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in connection with tax fraud worth $1.3 billion along with four other individuals.

Bloomberg reported that federal agents soon realized it would cost between $45,000 to $50,000 a year to feed and care for Lex, excluding medical costs.

The horse’s value had dropped sharply, with an examination determining it to be worth $145,000, according to the report.

The US Attorney’s Office in Atlanta then agreed to return the horse to Christina for $25,000, on the understanding that they could collect more if her father was convicted.

The US is facing huge costs to maintain assets such as superyachts seized from Russian oligarchs, according to US national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

“I know. It’s so ridiculous, but you know what the craziest thing is? When we seize one, we have to pay for upkeep,” Sullivan says in reply. “The federal government pays for upkeep because under the kind of forfeiture rubric, so like some people are basically being paid to maintain Russian superyachts on behalf of the United States government.”

The US Marshals Service, which takes control of seized property, has a network of private contractors that often do the day-to-day maintenance. Seized assets are often stored to make that work easier, with cars placed in specialized lots or boats put in dry docks.

Maybe giving back some of the boats might be a good idea since it sure didn’t seem to have much effect on Vlad. Once again showing the wisdom our government uses in making decisions.

Source Business Insider

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