The United States Department of Justice confiscated two apartments allegedly belonging to Russian businessman Perevalov

The default judgment in the Apartments case is the result of a civil forfeiture lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in February 2024 seeking forfeiture of the property.

“Today’s successful seizure demonstrates once again that attempting to hide assets behind screens and shell companies is a risky short-term gamble with real long-term costs. <...> The United States has the personnel, the tools and the will to comply with sanctions programs,” said Michael Hu, head of the KleptoCapture task force at the US Department of Justice.

The Justice Ministry’s lawsuit notes that Viktor Perevalov and Valery Abramov were co-founders of the VAD road construction company, responsible for the creation of the Tavrida highway in Crimea. In January 2018, the organization and its co-founders were subject to US sanctions.

The department separately noted that the US Treasury did not grant anyone a special license allowing transactions with Perevalov as an exception. In December 2024, Perevalov again appeared on sanctioned lists as an employee of the Russian construction sector.

US authorities believe that between 2018 and 2023 the apartments were allegedly managed by a legal entity and rented without revealing the true owner. Part of the income received was used to keep the property in good condition, says the United States Department of Justice.