U.S. offers $1 million for info on Russian oligarch yacht handler, sanctions evader

The U.S. government is offering a $1 million reward for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Vladislav Osipov, a Swiss-based Russian businessman accused of orchestrating a scheme to deceive U.S. companies into doing business with a yacht owned by a Russian billionaire under U.S. sanctions. The Justice Department says Osipov, accused of violating sanctions against the billionaire, concealed the yacht's ownership through shell companies and intermediaries. In a new indictment, prosecutors allege Osipov, through his employees, bought more than $8,000 worth of goods for the yacht that were processed by U.S. firms and financial institutions, including navigation software, leather basket magazine holders provided by a bespoke silversmith, and web and computing services. The management company running the yacht, which is now under sanction, also paid invoices worth more than $180,000 to a U.S. internet service provider. Officials say Osipov, who denies the allegations, is currently at large. The State Department's Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program has warned that he may be visiting Herrliberg, Switzerland; Majorca, Spain; or Moscow.