Russia and Putin · Second term · № 97
Said Russian oligarchs could buy his $5 million 'gold card', weeks after DOJ disbanded its oligarch sanctions unit
“Yes, possibly. Hey, I know some Russian oligarchs that are very nice people.”
- Said
- , Oval Office exchange with reporters, the White House
- Subject
- Russian oligarchs
- Type
- Sanctions and pressure
- Topic
- Ukraine & Russia
- Era
- Second term
What happened
On February 25, 2025, Trump announced a plan to sell "gold card" residency permits for $5 million each and was asked whether a Russian oligarch would be eligible. He added that the oligarchs were "not quite as wealthy as they used to be" and "I think they could afford $5 million." NPR described the answer as seemingly tongue-in-cheek. Minutes earlier, asked about lifting sanctions on Russia, he said, "we haven't lifted any sanctions on anybody" and that the question would be on the table "at some point." On February 5, in a memo issued on her first day in office, Attorney General Pam Bondi disbanded Task Force KleptoCapture, the unit formed in 2022 to enforce sanctions against oligarchs close to Putin, and the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force. The memo said the department's resources would be redirected toward drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
Sources
- Remarks at a Document Signing Ceremony and an Exchange With Reporters
- Trump introduces a green card for the rich: the gold card
- Trump says Russian oligarchs could be eligible for $5 million US 'gold card'
- US Justice Department disbands teams investigating corruption, election interference
- DOJ disbands foreign influence task force, limits scope of FARA prosecutions