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Federal Agents Search Fisher Island Property Allegedly Linked to Russian Oligarch

The search is connected to Viktor Vekselberg, a billionaire and close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, sources familiar with the matter told NBC News

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Federal agents were spotted searching a property on South Florida's ultra-exclusive Fisher Island Thursday as part of an investigation sources said is connected to a Russian oligarch.

The search is connected to Viktor Vekselberg, a billionaire and close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, sources familiar with the matter told NBC News.

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Homeland Security Investigations and FBI agents were also spotted in New York, carrying boxes during a search at an apartment at a Manhattan high-rise and at an estate in the Hamptons.

Viktor Vekselberg, billionaire and co-founder of Renova Group, speaks during a panel session on day three of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Friday, June 4, 2021. President Vladimir Putin will host Russias flagship investor showcase as he seeks to demonstrate its stuttering economy is back to business as usual despite continuing risks from Covid-19 and new waves of western sanctions. Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Viktor Vekselberg, billionaire and co-founder of Renova Group, speaks during a panel session on day three of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Friday, June 4, 2021.

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Records showed those properties are linked to Vekselberg.

Sources said the searches were connected to ongoing investigations but the nature of the investigations was unknown.

NBC News said attempts to reach a representative for Vekselberg were not immediately successful.

In April, the U.S. seized Vekselberg's $90 million superyacht in Spain. The seizure was among the first sanctions imposed that targeted the assets of Russian elites in response to the country's invasion of Ukraine.

Vekselberg has also been the subject of a Department of Justice investigation surrounding allegations of bank fraud, though no charges have been filed.

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