Taxpayers Footing the Bill for Costly Maintenance of Seized Russian Billionaire Toys
Taxpayers are bearing the cost of maintaining assets seized from Russian oligarchs as countries struggle to sell them off. Western sanctions have successfully removed assets from many Russian billionaires, but laws have made it difficult for governments to sell the seized assets. Taxpayers in Antigua and Barbuda are paying $28,000 a week to maintain a $120 million yacht seized from Russian billionaire Andrey Grigoryevich Guryev. Ukraine has only received $5.4 million from the sale of oligarchs' assets so far. The US and other countries are facing challenges in selling seized assets due to the need to prove criminal cases against the owners first.