Attorney pleads guilty to aiding sanctioned Russian oligarch
By 
Adrianne Appel2023-04-27T20:12:00
A New York attorney faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty to making payments to maintain U.S. properties secretly owned by a sanctioned Russian oligarch.
Robert Wise was retained by Vladimir Voronchenko—an associate of Viktor Vekselberg, a Russian oligarch sanctioned by the United States in April 2018—to acquire luxury properties in the United States, according an information filed Tuesday by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in the Southern District of New York.
Between 2008 and 2017, Vekselberg obtained the properties by going through shell companies. Wise managed their finances, including paying insurance and property taxes, the DOJ said. The payments for the properties were taken from interest earned on Wise’s lawyer’s trust account, also called an IOLTA account.
Related articles
-
News BriefPURE Insurance to pay $466K in OFAC sanctions case
Insurance organization Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange agreed to pay $466,200 as part of a settlement with the Office of Foreign Assets Control addressing alleged sanctioned transactions on behalf of designated Ukrainian-Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg.
-
News BriefSEC: Investment adviser to sanctioned Russian oligarch failed to register
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against New York-based Concord Management and its owner for operating as an unregistered investment adviser to a lone client: a sanctioned Russian oligarch.
-
PremiumABA resolution latest effort to separate lawyers from clients’ crimes
Under increasing pressure from federal lawmakers and regulators, the American Bar Association agreed to strengthen the obligations lawyers must meet when weighing whether to stop representing clients who might be using their services to commit financial crimes.
More from Regulatory Enforcement
-
ArticleSan Francisco firm pays $11.4M for alleged Russia-related sanctions violations
A San Francisco-based private equity firm has agreed to pay $11.4 million to settle allegations it violated U.S. sanctions rules by handling investments for a sanctioned Russian oligarch.
-
ArticleCompany agrees to report to FTC for 10 years for alleged student data lapses
A tech company that stores student information for schools has agreed to implement a data security program and report to the Federal Trade Commission for 10 years, after security failures led to data for 10 million students being breached.
-
ArticleLarge wound care practice pays $45M, agrees to monitoring
One of the largest wound care practices in the nation and its founder have agreed to pay $45 million and be subjected to third-party monitoring, to settle allegations that the business intentionally overbilled Medicare by priming its electronic medical records system to do so.