Justice Department Launches  Multilateral Oligarch Task Force

A statement from the Department of Justice released a short time ago reads: 'Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen today met virtually with representatives from Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the European Commission, to launch the Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs (REPO) multilateral task force.'

• Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen: 'Our sanctions, trade restrictions, and other measures have already imposed significant costs on Russia, its leadership, and those who enabled Putin’s unprovoked invasion into Ukraine. This multilateral task force will raise those costs even more, by galvanizing coordinated efforts to freeze and seize assets of these individuals in jurisdictions around the world and deny safe haven for their ill-gotten gains.'
• The task force was widely expected to authorise the confiscation and liquidation of Russian oligarch assets above USD$2 million. This would expand on the recently announced Task Force KleptoCapture designed to enforce economic punishments on Russia.
• The Department of Justice also announced on their Twitter page: 14:00 ET 18:00 GMT: 'Justice Department Officials to Hold Press Conference on Significant National Security Matter.' A livestream of the press conference can be followed here: https://www.justice.gov/live