A new government program will pay tipsters $5 million for telling on Russian oligarchs.
The U.S. launched a program that offers rewards up to $5 million for information that leads to the seizure of stolen assets that are connected to Russia or other foreign governments.
Western nations recently his Russia with hard sanctions following the country’s invasion of Ukraine and European countries impounding multi-million dollar yachts, USA Today reported.
The new program–known as the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Rewards Program– was favored by Congress during Trump’s administration as part of a defense spending bill. However, the program was officially launched this week.
The program is an effort by different government agencies to “use all the tools that they can and put a lot of teeth into the economic sanctions,” said Joe Valenti, who is a lawyer with the firm Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr.
To be eligible for a reward under the program, a tipster must provide information that results in the restraint, seizure, forfeiture, or repatriation of stolen assets “linked to foreign government corruption.”
The assets, Valenti added, could be of anything of value, including real estate to art to jewelry, as well as financial holdings.
