Washington shifts focus from oligarchs to drug cartels
Prosecutors from the KleptoCapture Task Force, a US Department of Justice unit aimed at targeting Russian oligarchs, are set to return to their previous roles, reports Reuters. The White House intends to shift its focus towards combating drug cartels.
The Joe Biden administration established the KleptoCapture Task Force to impede, among other objectives, Russian oligarchs' efforts to evade sanctions. This was designed as a strategic measure to exert pressure on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
The task force brought indictments against aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska and TV tycoon Konstantin Malofeyev for alleged sanctions busting, and seized yachts belonging to sanctioned oligarchs Suleiman Kerimov and Viktor Vekselberg," recalls Reuters.
The Donald Trump administration decided on a different approach, specifically mandating that the US Department of Justice concentrate on drug cartels.
"Cases investigated by the task force are likely to continue, but the work will no longer be centralized at Justice Department headquarters," reports Reuters. "Prosecutors assigned to the task force will return to their previous posts. The changes will be in effect for at least 90 days and could be renewed or made permanent, according to the directive," adds the agency.
Thaw in Washington-Moscow relations
Following the change of administration in the USA, relations between Washington and Moscow have warmed. Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have previously expressed a desire to meet. Reuters reported that the President of the United States is keen to discuss ending Russia's war with Ukraine, thus fulfilling a campaign promise.
- They haven’t [Kremlin and The White House - ed. note] had any initial contact to discuss whether they need to meet or not and if they need, when and how - Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN.
Leonid Slutsky, head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the State Duma (the lower house of Russia's parliament), stated, as quoted by the RIA Novosti agency, that a meeting between Trump and Putin could occur in February or March and that preparations for the US-Russia summit are at an "advanced stage."
