A global game of sanctions cat-and-mouse is now underway. This week, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a Treasury Department bureau, issued a new alert to financial institutions urging them to identify and report suspicious transactions involving real estate, luxury goods and other high-value assets of sanctioned Russian elites and their families. It warned jewelry and art dealers that such assets could be particularly ripe for Russian sanctions evasion.Updated March 18, 2022, 12:42 a.m. ET“Because real estate, luxury goods, and other high-value assets can be used as a store of value, a medium of exchange, or an investment, sanctioned Russian elites and their proxies may use such assets to evade expansive U.S. and other sanctions and restrictions imposed in response to the Russian Federation’s invasion of Ukraine,” the network, known as FinCEN, said.The Treasury Department on Wednesday also opened its new Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Rewards Program, which offers rewards of up to $5 million for info …
