Diego Rivera, Prada Seized in FBI’s Pre-War Raid of Deripaska

A Diego Rivera painting. A pair of Prada shoes. A baseball cap.

The FBI didn’t say why it seized those items and more in raids last October, but its reasons are now becoming clear: Federal authorities suspect Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska has been evading U.S. sanctions.

Deripaska has been sanctioned since 2018 for his ties to Vladimir Putin, and the seizures at a Washington mansion and New York townhouse linked to him predate the invasion of Ukraine. But the investigation of Deripaska’s assets is now part of an escalating U.S. crackdown on ultra-rich Russians suspected of laundering money and ...