For years, Russian oligarchs have prepared for the possibility that Western governments might try to come after their wealth. Thanks to decades of relatively lax regulations on plane registration and boat ownership, many of Vladimir Putin’s closest allies are now rushing their most valuable assets to safety.
It shouldn’t be difficult to seize—or at least freeze and hang onto—the wealth Russian oligarchs have deposited in the West. After all, a mega-yacht is hard to miss, and private jets, some of the most valuable assets that can be purchased, can barely move across an airport taxiway without being directed and tracked by air traffic controllers. Earlier this week, France did manage to seize the 290-foot Amore Vero, owned by close Putin associate Igor Sechin, but it was one of the few oligarch-linked items taken since the war started.
But, as the Washington Post reported on Friday, American and European governments are finding their hands tied in actually taking control of the assets.
Rep. Stephen F. Lynch (D-Mass.) said the FAA’s aircraft registration system is flawed […]
Read this article in the light of the Trillions of dollars which have been flushed down the toilet on “Security”. You cannot write an email which avoids being tracked and stored by the US government. Tracking the jets and yachts of the rich and famous….well not so much.